Gemini
by Kailiata
Summary: When everything else kept them apart, it was the stars which brought them together.
1. Be careful

Victoria giggled.  
'You're getting too confident Misto. What if someone sees us?'

Once again the two cats were together. Victoria, with her back against the wall, was staring intently at the black and white tom who had trapped her. He was leaning on the wall, his paws on either side of her, his head only inches away from her own.

'No-one is going to see, you know I'm always careful.'

Leaning in, he gently let his lips brush hers then frowned as weakly, Victoria pushed him away.

'Come on Vic. We'll be fine!'

Seeing that the worried expression still hadn't left her eyes, Mistoffelees tipped the young queen's chin upwards and looked deep into her eyes. He chuckled as her face scrunched into a scowl.

'No fair, you promised no more hypnotising.'

Slowly, the tuxedo tom leaned in, whispering into the white queens ear.

'But is it working?'

Victoria smiled coquettishly, purring as his hot breath tickled her skin. Mistoffelees returned the smile as he felt her paws wind across his shoulders and around his neck, her claws entwining in his head fur. He slipped his own paws comfortably around her waist, feeling rather than hearing her reply as their lips touched.

'Maybe'


	2. Boredom

Victoria was bored. Once again she had been left on her own while her father was working. Seeing a mouse scamper across the floor of her room, she leapt to her feet, throwing herself towards it. She missed it by a mile, as she knew she would but she would do anything to overcome this feeling of solitude. The room she was in was large and round. The walls were a blinding white and in the window hung several glass prisms, which sparkled in the afternoon sun, sending rainbows darting across the walls. Her bed was large, fluffy and pink. Victoria was every inch a queen. The whole room was beautiful, spacious and lavishly furnished but at the same time, empty. She had only to ask her father for something and it would be given to her but yet there was one thing she had never found the courage to ask for.

Her thickly lashed eyes surveyed her belongings; Toys of every shape and size and enough bows, collars and jewellery to open a very large shop. Yes, she had everything she needed to be happy. Her father gave her everything and she loved him dearly but there was one thing she wanted in all the world and she had made up her mind to ask her father that afternoon if she could have it.

* * *

'I'll think about it.' That was all he said but that was all Victoria needed to hear. The tiny kitten flung herself at him, throwing her arms around her father's neck. He hugged his daughter back, his paws gently stroking her little white head.

'I love you Daddy.' Victoria whispered as she burrowed her head softly into his fur. The tall tom smiled half-heartedly as the contented kitten's eyed closed and she let out a happy sigh. He closed his eyes for a second listening only to his daughter's quiet breathing. He wished she could stay like this. Never questioning, never doubting. He knew the time would come when she would no longer accept him. A time when she would start to wonder why she held no resemblance to the tom she called her father. He knew when that time came, he would lose her and he knew there was nothing he could do to stop it.

'I love you too, darling'

Gently he placed the sleeping kitten down on her bed, gently brushing the fur away from her eyes. Tenderly he kissed the petite queen on her forehead, smiling as her nose scrunched. Hearing the door creak open, he turned to see a tom as black as ebony enter the room.

'Macavity, sir, sorry to disturb you but it seems…' The jet black tom trailed off as Macavity raised his paw.

'Not now Melanic.'

Melanic nodded. He understood his master better than any of the other toms who worked for him.

'Alright sir, I'll come back later.' As he turned to leave Melanic heard his name called again.

'Do you have any kittens Melanic?'

'Just one sir, a tom.'

'And how old is he?' Macavity was watching his henchcat closely.

'About a year older than Victoria.' Melanic watched his employer curiously, wondering where these questions were heading.

'How would he like to spend some time with Victoria?'

Melanic composed himself before answering.

'I'm sure he would like that very much sir.'

'Thank you Melanic, that is all. You may bring your son tomorrow.'

'Very good sir.' Melanic bowed and turned once again to leave the room.

'Melanic, what is your son's name?'

'Mistoffelees' The dark tom replied, closing the door gently behind him.


	3. Awkward!

Macavity threw his paws in the air exasperated.

'Well this is a waste of time!'

Melanic just watched the two kittens worriedly. The tuxedo tom and snowy queen were sat on opposite sides of the room staring at each other, barely moving. They had been sat like this for nearly an hour and the two fathers were beginning to think the whole arrangement was useless.

When Victoria had asked Macavity if she could have a friend he had had his doubts. She was generally quiet and he didn't trust other cats. They could harm her or hurt her feelings and this wasn't something he wanted for his daughter. Yet he had been persuaded when he found out about Melanic's son. He trusted Melanic. He was the clostest thing to a friend Macavity had allowed himself. Friends could betray you and he'd always been careful. Getting too close to people made it harder when they left you and they always did. Sighing he left the room. He wasn't a fatherly type. He had no idea what to do when it came to kittens and friendships. His own father and mother abandoned him so he knew nothing of how family life should be.

Sitting down in the room he liked to call his 'office', he ran his claws frustratedly through his head fur. Subconsciously he reached down and pulled out a small tin box. He popped open the lid and rooted through the contents until he found the letter. It had arrived five years ago along with a small bundle which had turned out to be Victoria. He read the end of the letter through again as confused as he had been the first time he read it.

'Growltiger is dead Mac and now I feel it is time for me to join him in Heaviside. I am leaving my daughter, Victoria, to you. I know you will be a good father to her.  
Your loving sister, Griddlebone.'

'I'm no good as a father, Griddlebone. What made you think I would ever be able to look after a kitten?'

He shoved the letter back in its box.

'I could barely look after you.'

* * *

Melanic had watched the two kittens for a few moments after Macavity had left, before following him out of the room. In those few moments he had taken in the situation and decided what he had to do. Leaving the room, he immediately doubled back on himself and opened a hidden door. He climbed along the small passage way, finally stopping at a small curtain. He pulled the material aside to reveal a small window. Macavity was not the most confident of parents, but no-one could doubt that he cared for his daughter. He had had the peep hole installed as soon as Victoria had been able to crawl. It enabled him to check on her without disturbing her. Only Macavity and Melanic knew of this secret. The other henchcats could not be trusted and that's probably why they worked for Macavity.

The dark tom smiled at what he saw. With no-one watching, the two kittens were edging closer together. They were still wary but the tension was gone. Pleased that things were starting to progress well, Melanic pulled the curtain back into place and went to find the tom he worked for.

* * *

Mistoffelees watched his father leave the room. So he was leaving him with this pampered snow queen. How unfair! She was just sat watching him and it was making him feel very uncomfortable.

'Look! Would you stop watching me! I'm not some kind of freak show!' Mistoffelees harrumphed and folded his paws, assuming what he thought was a very mature expression. In fact he just looked as if he was struggling to see.

'I… I'm sorry... I didn't mean to... I mean… oh.'

Victoria stuttered quietly. She was sitting with her knees hugged close to her chest and she rested her head on them unhappily. She wanted a friend so badly but this tom seemed to hate her.

'I'm Mistoffelees by the way.' Victoria jumped out of her skin as the tom was suddenly in front of her, his paw outstretched. Her head jerked up and in her shock she lost her balance. She fell backwards, landing on her back. Her legs shot up into the air and kicked the tuxedo tom straight in the face.

'Ahhhhhhhhh my snoz!' The young tom sat cradling his nose.

'I'm so sorry! Are you ok.. oh dear… I didn't mean to, you made me jump! Are you alright?' Victoria scampered towards the injured tom.

'I'm fine… stop prodding me!' Mistoffelees swatted away the queens paws as she checked he was alright.

'I'm Victoria.' She extended her paw for him to shake and he took it tentatively.

'Mistoffelees' He scowled as she began to giggle.

_Great! she's insane as well as clumsy! _He thought to himself.

'What are you giggling at?'

'Your…. snoz!' Victoria said the word and fell about in a fit of giggles.

'Yeah, yeah. Not. Funny.'

'It is.' Victoria sat giggling to herself with Mistoffelees next to her, cradling his nose.

'Can I call you Misto?' She said quietly.

'No.'

'Felees?'

'Nope.'

'Mr. Fleas?'

'Na -ah.'

'Feefee?'

'No way.'

'Fluffy?'

'What? Alright you can call me Misto!'

'Good.'

The silence resumed and both kittens fiddled with their paws nervously. Suddenly there was a flash of light. Victoria screamed and Mistoffelees was thrown backwards into the wall.

'Misto?'

'What?' The young tom was rubbing his head and trying to make the room stop spinning.

'How did you do that?'

As his vision cleared, Misto followed her outstretched paw to see what she was pointing at. On the wall there was a dark black scorch mark, obvious against the white walls.

'I did that?'

* * *

**I would really love some reviews - please tell me what you think! :) **


	4. Hope

**Hey guys :) I would really REALLY love some reviews.. there's not been any feedback on this story at all and I would really love to know what you think. School starts soon so I might not be able to update as much as I would like to... reviews give me that extra push to get the next chapter up.**

* * *

Macavity and Melanic came running when they heard the scream.

'What's wrong?'

Macavity stared from the puzzled Mistoffelees to the shaking Victoria, to the scorch mark on the wall.

Victoria met his eyes but he got no answer.

'What happened?'

The young queen blinked slowly. 'I'm sorry, I know you told me never to play with fire.' She crawled to her fathers side. 'But you know what they say? Familiar with candle, book and bell?' She smiled up at the sceptical ginger cat.

'Alright then. Just don't do it again.' Macavity sighed and left the room, muttering to himself about how annoying kittens could be.

'Mistoffelees, I think it's time for you to go now, say goodbye to Victoria.' Melanic held out his paw for the young tom to take and lead him out of the room.

'Bye Misto!'

Misto turned and smiled as his father dragged him out of the door.

'Bye Vic!'

His smile vanished as he saw Melanic's expression.

'Don't do it again.' The dark tom's deep voice was firm.

'What? I didn't mean… I mean, Victoria did it – she told you!' Mistoffelees had stuck his bottom lip out and looked very annoyed that he had been discovered.

'I KNOW YOU DID IT MISTOFFELEES!'

The young tom leapt out of his skin as his father shouted at him.

'But…' Mistoffelees whimpered, 'It was an accident. She was calling me names and I was bored and it just happened.'

Melanic's expression softened at his sons' excuses.

'I know it was an accident, I'm sorry for shouting. You've just got to be careful, Macavity cares a lot about Victoria and if you hurt her you might not be able to see her again.' He sighed as he felt his son curl up next to him.

'But if I don't know how I did it… how can I not do it?'

Melanic lifted his son up by his shoulders so he could look at him.

'You really don't know how you did it?'

Mistoffelees grinned. 'Nope! No idea.' His grin faded as he saw his father frown.

'Son, have I ever told you about your Aunt Tantomile and Uncle Coricopat?'

* * *

Victoria was once again left alone. She sat on her bed, quietly musing over what had happened that day. She had had her wish for a friend granted, even if he had been dragged away when they had only just started to talk. She decided she actually quite liked Mistoffelees, even if he had called her 'Vic'. Her eyes wandered to the black mark on the wall. Her mind told her that there was no way Misto could have caused that. Yet she had seen the spark fly from his paw with her own eyes and she had covered for him. She didn't know why but something told her that her father shouldn't know that Misto had caused the fire.

The young queen sighed. Her father clearly didn't care for her as much as he said he did. In her room there was only one candle and the wick was still white. There was no way Victoria's excuse would have held up if he had had taken the time to actually investigate it. Frustrated, she buried her head in her pillow. She had also seen the look in the eyes of Misto's father. It seemed almost fearful but there was something else there. Recognition? As if he had seen the scene before. So maybe there was more to what happened that afternoon than met the eye.

'_I'll have to find out._' Victoria thought sleepily. '_But I'll have a nap first_.'

* * *

'Your family are descended from an ancient race of cats that were worshiped by the Egyptians. These cats were said to possess magical powers and were treated like gods. Eventually, the worship of cats died out but the 'Mau' as they were known, lived on. As the cats began to breed with other cats, the powers began to disappear. However, occasionally a cat who is a direct descendant of the Mau inherits these powers. Your mother, Exotica, and her twin siblings are all direct descendants. Your aunt and Uncle can both sense when something is going to happen. Your aunt Tantomile has exceptional healing knowledge and power, and your uncle Cori sometimes sees visions. Your mother has no powers, and as I am just an average tom, we thought you might have escaped. Sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case.'

'Sadly? Why are you sad that I'm magical?'

'Because the Mau weren't good cats, Misto. Too often their powers were used for evil and it became ingrained in their minds. Your aunt and uncle are two of the few Mau who used their powers for good. I hope that you will learn to control your powers and that you can also use your powers for good but until you have learnt to control them, keep your powers hidden. No destroying Victoria's room.' Melanic smiled fondly at his son.

'Don't worry Father! I'll be the goodest Mau there ever was!'

Mistoffelees looked so hopeful that Melanic almost believed he would. He gently patted his sons' head.

'I do hope so.' But inside Melanic wished that life was that simple; That determination was all his son would need.


	5. Stars

'I'm sorry, tell me again but talk slowly this time! And stop with that infernal giggling!'

Macavity slammed his paws down on his 'desk' (a wardrobe with no doors he had found just outside the junkyard) and glared at the giggling tabby who choked back her giggles and began to hiccup instead. Macavity was not having a good day and now these two irritating cats with their ridiculous accent and giggling had arrived asking for a job. He was at his wits end.

'Weeeel, moi sister and oi were just wunderin' if ya'd be so koined as to give us a job?'

Macavity nodded, he had understood so far, he thought.

'What makes you think you would be good enough to work for me?'

'Wer' cat burglars!'

Macavity frowned. This cat seemed dimmer every time he spoke.

'Yes, so am I… among other things. So why should I employ you two when I already have numerous hench-cats willing to do my bidding when I so much as snap my fingers?'

'Weeeell' The striped tom began before his companion cut in. She was a pretty queen and she had a look about her. She could be useful, yes, but as for the tom…

'Ploise excuse moi bruther.' Macavity cringed. _That accent again!_

'Here's some of oir woik' She pushed forward a small bag and Macavitys face broke into a smile as he looked inside.

'Alright, you can have the job but behave yourselves and keep in line with the rest of the cats.'

The two tabbies smiled and in a movement that Macavity found unnervingly energetic, they jumped up and high-fived each other before scampering off in the direction Macavity pointed.

Finding their energy exhausting, Macavity sat down and looked at the names of the two cats who had just joined his team.

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer.

Looking at the watch he had recently stolen from that irksome station cat, he decided it was about time he called upon his old friends the Jellicles.

* * *

'They're called prisms. They capture the light and then they turn it into a rainbow.'

Victoria was spending the afternoon showing off to Mistoffelees. They had been playing together for nearly a year and the precocious princess had somehow never found time to show her friend all of her beautiful things. At that moment they were both studying the glass shapes that hung at her windows.

'How do they do that?' Mistoffelees was batting the shapes gently, watching the colours dance and waver.

'I don't know.' Victoria plonked herself next to the tuxedo tom and began to fiddle with her paws. She didn't care why things did what she wanted, just as long as they did it.

'Maybe it's magic.' she said absentmindedly.

At this comment Mistoffelees sat up. 'I didn't do it.'

Victoria looked puzzled. 'Of course you didn't Misto, It's the light! Why are you acting so strange?'

'It's nothing… I've just been feeling a bit unwell lately. Nothing's making sense. I' probably just talking rubbish, I'm sorry.' Mistoffelees began to fiddle with his paws then stopped when he realised what he was doing. Victoria watched him carefully.

'Well if you're ill, you need to go back to your own den. Should we get your father?'

Mistoffelees shook his head, he didn't want to go back to his den, he got so bored. At least there was something to look at whilst he was with Victoria. The two kittens were quiet for a moment before Mistoffelees jumped to his feet.

'You know… if we opened the windows the wind would blow them and we wouldn't have to keep tapping them to make the rainbows move.'

He got up to open the window but stopped suddenly.

'Vic? There's no way to open the window.'

'Isn't there? I'd never noticed.' The snowy queen barely looked up.

'You've never wanted to open the window before?' Mistoffelees was getting very confused.

'No. Why would I? I've got my fan to keep me cool.' Victoria gestured towards a small electrical fan that was sat on the floor near them.

'Don't you think it's a bit strange that they don't open?' The tuxedo kitten sat down with his friend.

Victoria shuffled closer to him.

'No. My Daddy just doesn't want anyone to hurt me.'

'_Or he doesn't want you to get out.' _Misto thought to himself.

The two kittens sat awkwardly for a while, as if Mistoffelees had spoken his thought out loud.

'Misto? When's your birthday?'

'23rd of May. I'm a Gemini.' Misto said proudly.

'You're a what?' Victoria smirked.

'A Gemini. You know? Star signs?'

'Star… signs?' Victoria just looked puzzled.

'When's your birthday?'

'3rd of June. Why?'

'You're a Gemini too!'

'I'm a what? Misto, I'm confused!'

The young queen scowled as her friend hopped around the room.

'Well… my Father told me that everyone is born under a star sign and that you can tell your future from them. We're both Gemini so… Hey! We could be star siblings! Do you want to be my star sister Vic?'

'Erm… alright.' Victoria had no idea what she had just agreed to.

'Great! This means we're going to be friends forever!' Mistoffelees grinned from ear to ear and Victoria couldn't help smiling back.

'Misto, can I tell you a secret?'

Mistoffelees nodded but half wished he hadn't as he saw her expression turn sad.

'I've never seen the stars.' Victoria sighed and hesitantly Mistoffelees took her hand.

'One day, I'll show them to you.'

* * *

**I attempted to do 'Jerrie and 'Teazer's accent... not really sure if it turned out right.  
And ****Thank you sooooo much to the people who reviewed! You made me smile muchly!**


	6. Criss cross

'_Thump, thump, thump.' _

Macavity's head was pounding. He was ill and exhausted. He stared down once again at the poster in his hand. The picture was faded and definitely hadn't got his best side. The writing underneath stated he was 'WANTED – for everything'. It made him smile to see the extent those Jellicles would go to, to try and capture him. The fact was, he _did_ nothing. He was simply the brains and face of the crimes. Behind each action there were at least five other cats working.

He lifted his head weakly as he heard a knock at the door.

'Yes?'

A small russet head appeared around the door. Macavity searched through his brain to try and remember the name of the tom.

'And what can I do for you… Fulvous?' He threw a fake smile across his face as the young tom crept towards him.

'It's those new cats sir. They're creating havoc.' The two tabbies had been there for

Macavity relaxed his cheek muscles as his eyebrows knitted together.

'Show me.'

The scene that met with Macavity' eyes was beyond belief. The two cats were cavorting around the hall where Macavity held his briefings, cart wheeling whilst somehow entwined with each other. All over the room furniture had been upturned, with paper and everlasting cat knows what else flying everywhere. Macavity could only sigh as he mustered up all of his energy to become the cat that had the control. His eyes blazed a fiery red, showing a side of Macavity his daughter would never see. He looked to his right. Watching his every move were his four captains. He nodded and with a click of his fingers the two striped troublemakers were on their knees in front of him, their arms twisted behind their backs.

'I give you a chance and THIS is how you repay me?'

Macavity gestured over the chaos that the double-act had created. He took a deep breath and attempted to continue, desperately trying to hide the wave of nausea that had overcome him. Reluctantly, he turned away.

'Just take them away. Melanic, you know what to do.' Macavity nodded to the tom to his right and watched as the two cats were dragged away, Melanic walking with authority behind.

The ginger tom leant on an upturned barrel for support as the room began to spin. He felt his knees buckle and heard the thud as his head hit the concrete. As his vision faded, he smiled. He could do with some sleep.

* * *

Mistoffelees could feel the power surging though his veins. The sparks prickled at his fingertips and, with a graceful leap he sank to the ground, his eyes focusing on his target less then a second before the lightening hit it. He smiled, he was getting better.

He heard footsteps behind him and, turning swiftly, he shot a small bolt towards the sound.

He pulled a face when he saw the shot had landed miles away from the intruder.

'You're getting better Misto, keep at it.' Melanic smiled proudly at his son but he was worried. He was worried that his son would stop improving, that his powers would grow stronger faster than he could keep up with them.

'You're doing well son, now go and play with your friend.' Mistoffelees held out his paw as his father dropped the key into it. Their eyes met and both father and son sighed.

They both knew it was wrong that Victoria was locked up, but at the same time they both understood why.

'It's just the way it is, Mac's very protective.'

The tuxedo tom just closed his paw around the key and marched towards her room.

* * *

As he suspected, she was curled up on her favourite cushions, reading one of the books Macavity had given her. She didn't even look up as he entered; It had become routine: Mistoffelees would practise his magic, then visit his best friend. They would spend whatever time they could together, talking and playing or reading. Mistoffelees sank to his knees to inspect the title of her latest book.

'"Roman Gods and Goddesses!" Vic, You could have picked something more _interesting!_'

The white queen just stared at him with her long lashed eyes.

'This. Is. Interesting.'

Mistoffelees raised his paws in a defensive motion.

'Well sooooo-rry!'

Victoria giggle and feebly pushed him over.

'Don't be mean! It's actually really good. Look here's the goddess of love, Venus.' She pointed to a picture of a statue before turning the page.

'And here's Mars. He's the god of war.'

Mistoffelees rolled his eyes.

'You're really into this mythology stuff aren't you?'

Victoria nodded.

'Well in that case… You can be Venus, and I'm Mars.'

Mistoffelees threw himself at the unsuspecting queen, tickling her mercilessly until tears fell from her eyes.

'Stop! Misto, that's unfair!' The young queen giggled happily as the torture subsided. Her tense body relaxed as she felt Misto flop down beside her.

'Misto… do you remember on the day we met?' Victoria felt her friend stiffen beside her.

'Well, I saw sparks fly out of your paws.'

Mistoffelees sat up suddenly.

'I didn't do anything.' he spat the words out in his haste.

Victoria knelt in front of her friend, her head cocked to one side.

'Misto… I saw you.'

'It wasn't me!' Misto began to shuffle back until his back was against the wall.

'It's fine, I'm not going to tell anyone.' Victoria continued to advance towards him.

'I already told you! I didn't do anything!' The panic was streaked across the tuxedo tom's face and he was shaking.

'Misto, stop being silly. I'm your best friend!'

'Get away from me!'

Mistoffelees pushed the snowy queen away with all his strength, hearing her scream as he sent her flying. Try as he might, he couldn't look up at her. He was shaking as he felt Victoria's arms encircle him. She would never understand that he wasn't shaking because of what he'd done. He was shaking because of what he could do.

'It's ok Misto, I know you're not magical.'

What made the lie worse, was that Misto could see the tiny black scorch marks streaking either side of her body where his paws had touched her.

Black lines, criss-crossing the perfect white.

* * *

**Sorry it's taken me so long to update, It was my birthday so I've had lots of family and my party and things... We've also just started back at schoo and I've got looooooads of work!**

** I don't think this is an amazing chapter but hey, the next one should be better.**


	7. Heart

Mistoffelees woke with a start, his fur plastered to his body and dripping with sweat. For the fifth night in a row he'd dreamt of that day. The dark scars still stained Victoria's coat and every time he saw them, it reminded him of how he'd hurt her.

He saw her cry when he left, watching her from the secret passage and her expression haunted him in his dreams. But that day was years ago, they had both grown older, and were better friends than ever before. Yet every day Mistoffelees wished he could take back the hurt he had caused his best friend.

Giving up on getting any sleep, he climbed out of his bed and crept onto the roof of the warehouse, where he practised his magic.

He was a master at his art now, never once missing a target and controlling the bolts with ease when he was focused. Focus caused Mistoffelees the most problems. He got distracted easily and could not control his emotions. He was a teenage tom and his moods were constantly changing and unpredictable. Knocking over the tenth can, the black and white tom sat down, exhausted. When he was emotional he could not control his powers well and right now he wanted more than anything, just to sleep.

When Victoria heard the knock on her door she sat up and smiled. She slept lightly and the knock sometimes came at her door, woke her up as always. She gracefully stood up, knocking back on the door. She knew the whole procedure was pointless. He didn't need to knock and she wasn't really able to give him permission but the whole thing made her feel special and Victoria knew that was why her friend humoured her.

As she heard the key turn she inhaled sharply. The noise it made still scared her even now. Their night meetings were secret. No-one knew that Mistoffelees had the 'lost' key or that Victoria didn't really sleep badly because of nightmares.

As Mistoffelees entered the room, the pearly queen assessed him. Raising one eyebrow at his appearance, she opened one of her many trunks and handed him a towel, to which he grunted his thanks and hastily wiped his face and sat down.

The silence between the two of them wasn't awkward, the two cat's just appreciated being together.

Mistoffelees smiled as he felt Victoria's head rest on his shoulder.

'You tired?' he said softly as he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close.

He felt her head move slightly in an attempt at nodding.

'Well sleep then, don't stay awake for me.'

He felt her head move again, weaker this time. She would be asleep any second.

Sure enough, within a few minutes, Victoria was snoring gently to herself as Mistoffelees sat thinking. He had been with her for the past five nights so it was no surprise that she couldn't stay awake. He just sat thinking, content to be able to feel her next to him.

* * *

When Victoria woke, Misto was gone. She ran her paw over the dent in the cushion where her friend had just been lying. It was still warm. She purred happily; he was still in the room. She lazily opened her eyes, searching the room even before her vision had become focused. She stood up to look for him, took one step, wobbled and tumbled backwards. She heard Misto behind her as she fell, smiling as she felt his strong arms catch her.

'Morning twinkle toes. Steady on your feet as always.'

Victoria turned and smiled back at her friend as she regained her balance.

'One of these days, you'll learn to stand up without falling over.'

'I've been practising you know!' Victoria carefully began to dance, wobbling like a jelly and tripping over her own feet. As punishment for their crimes, Mungojerrie and Rmpleteazer had been forced to give the young Victoria dance lessons. They hadn't been very effective. As Victoria entered her teen years, her balance got worse and it seemed she would never improve.

As the teenage queen wobbled precariously on one leg, Mistoffelees scooped her up, smiling as her tinkling laugh trickled around the room. He spun her round before placing her firmly on her feet. She was breathless and smiling, her cheeks flushed from the excitement. They stood for what seemed like an age, Victoria's arms still around Misto's neck, his own paws tightly holding her waist. Both cats looked like they had been caught off guard, their eyes wide. Victoria smiled awkwardly.

'Well I don't know how I'm meant to learn to balance when you keep spinning me round!'

Mistoffelees smiled half-heartedly back, releasing his grip on her and flicking her nose playfully as he turned to leave.

'See ya later Vic.'

'Oh. Bye, will you come this afternoon?'

Mistoffelees shook his head.

'I've got to catch up on my sleep.'

With a quiet click he closed and locked the door behind him, almost walking straight into his father.

* * *

Melanic had woken up and noticed his son's disappearance at once, it didn't take all of his detective skills to figure out where he was. He crept along the tunnel, keeping quiet before reaching the spy hole. Peering through he saw his son spin Victoria around, and the look between them. He had seen all he needed to. He turned away from the scene and made his way back down the passage way, dreading what he was about to do.

Mistoffelees and Victoria were in love, whether they knew it yet or not and he was about to try and break them apart. He was about to do to his own son, the same thing the Jellicles had done to him. He knew how much it hurt. As he heard the door to Victoria's room close, Melanic took a breath and prepared to do the worst thing a father could do.

He was going to break his son's heart.

* * *

**Things are starting to get interesting now! I'll get the next chapter up by the end of the week.. possibly even tomorrow if I can find time.**


	8. Tonight's the night

'WHAT?' Misto stared at his father, stunned.

'I told you. We're leaving.' Melanic couldn't look his son in the eye as he began to pile up the things he planned on taking.

'But why?' Misto shook his head, his expression one of pure horror and fear. 'Have I done something? Has something happened?' He ducked as a book came flying towards him, reaching up without even looking and catching it.

'Are you thick Mistoffelees?' The jet black tom glared at his son.

'Do you think Macavity would have let you see Victoria if he thought you were getting too close to her? He's not protective, he's paranoid.  
He's also a mastermind. Do you not see the way he watches you? As if he's planning something. If he knew what you could do…'

'You mean… that's why I kept them secret?' Misto's mind was whirring, everything he had been told as a kitten was being mixed up. 'You lied to me?'

'I lied to protect you. Would you have believed me if I told you Macavity was planning to make you work for him?'

The tuxedo tom shook his head.

'But I can control my powers now. I can keep them hidden. So why can't we stay?'

Mistoffelees looked hopefully at his father who just sighed and looked deep into his eyes.

'You know the answer to that, Misto. It's too dangerous - for both of you.'

'But she doesn't have to know, we could just stay friends.'

'It doesn't work like that, son. You can't control who you fall in love with. Besides, could you stand just being friends?' He smiled at his son's lost expression.

'I leave tonight: with or without you. Stay if you wish, but remember what I told you. In a few weeks your powers will reach their peak, there's no telling what you will be able to do. Do you really want to put her in that much danger? You forget yourself around her. It would only take one mistake and she could be gone forever. Think about it Misto; which would hurt more: Losing her now but keeping her safe, or losing her forever?' He paused and watched his son leave the room, calling after him.

'I leave at dawn.'

* * *

Misto's head was a mess. He quickly wiped away a single frustrated tear that had begun to creep down his cheek and stormed forwards. He had no idea where he was going. All he knew was that his head needed clearing and his feet would take him where they wanted him to go. He looked round and smiled finally taking in his surroundings. On top of the warehouse he could see the sun beginning to set. The skyline of London was black against the fiery sky, streaked with forget-me-not blue. He was completely alone, carefully, he summoned the power to the tips of his fingers, letting the sparks dance playfully around them. With a swish of his hand, he sent the sparks flying into the wall. No where near where he had aimed.

His Father was right. When he was emotional, he had no control, his actions then confirmed it.

And wasn't love the strongest of all emotions?

Mistoffelees could feel the frustration building up inside him. With a gut wrenching scream he threw all his power into a single blast. The chimney in front of him collapsed in a cloud of smoke and sparks. When the dust finally cleared all that was left was a small pile of rubble. Mistoffelees began to shake violently, the sparks pricking his skin as they continued to dart about his paws. As the last rays of sunlight began to fade, he made his decision.

Tonight, he was saying goodbye.

* * *

Victoria was lying on her bed, dozing. Misto hadn't come to see her again and she felt lonely without anyone to talk to. Even her books had bored her so she had resorted to lying on her bed and staring out the window, watching the colours reflecting on the prisms. The image was relaxing and before long she found her eyes closing. She was so close to sleep that she didn't hear the click of the door as it opened and closed.

His paw was across her mouth so quickly she didn't even have time to think about screaming. Her eyes opened wide, staring straight into the eyes of her captor.

She relaxed and gently pushed his paw off her face as she sat up.

'Misto?' A smile subconsciously crept across her face. 'What are you doing?'

She felt him grab her paw and pull her to her feet, leading her towards the window.

'Just follow me.'

'Alright, but you know I can't see?' Faintly, Victoria could see her friend smile at her.

'That's perfect.'

Suddenly the room was lit up as light flooded from the tuxedo tom's paw. It was there and gone in a second but in that time the window had been opened and Victoria gently pushed out of it.

Up a ladder she climbed, all the time completely blind as to where she was going. She finally reached the top and stumbled clumsily onto her knees.

'Elegant as always.' As her eyes adjusted, Victoria could see her friends mocking grin as he held out his paws to help her up. She took them and, smiling happily back, felt herself fly back onto her feet and straight into his arms. With her paws resting softly on his shoulders, she felt that something should feel wrong. Yet she felt completely comfortable. Even as she felt his paws slide around her waist, nothing felt odd. It was as if everything was perfectly normal, like she was meant to be there.

'Misto, why did you bring me here?'

Even through the darkness, Victoria could see Misto wouldn't meet her eyes.

'I once promised you I would show you the stars. Well, tonight's the night.'

'Why tonight?'

_Because it's the last time I'm ever going to see you._ Misto wished he could tell her.

'Because it's a clear night.' he replied emotionlessly as he took her hand.

For the next hour he pointed out constellations, smiling at Victoria's awestruck expression and her ability to tell the story behind each constellation despite never seeing them before.

However, the night grew colder and Mistoffelees soon noticed the snowy queen was beginning to shiver.

'Do you want to go back inside?' Misto was already preparing himself for the hazardous journey back through the window.

'Don't be stupid.' She smiled cheekily at him. Like a child who had been told to come off the playground but refused to.

'Well in that case, I'll make myself comfortable.' Misto plonked himself down, watching Victoria sit next to him. As she continued to shiver, he sighed, getting up and finding an abandoned rug. He wrapped it around her shoulders, then seeing her continue to shake like a washing machine, sat down behind her, wrapping her up like a parcel in his arms. He felt her relax as she warmed up, her head resting delicately on his chest.

'Misto', she half whispered into his fur, 'I don't want tonight to end.'

As a single tear rolled down his cheek, Misto realised how much he wished time would stand still.

'I don't either Vic.'

Then, almost hesitantly, he tilted her face towards his.

'I wish it could last forever.'

Her eyes were puzzled as she registered the emotion behind his words but as she felt their lips touch, her concerns were forgotten.

Finally pulling herself away, Victoria twisted herself round so she was facing the tom.

'When you said you were going to show me stars, I didn't think you meant like that.'

Mistoffelees grinned cheekily.

'So what's your favourite constellation?'

The young queen took his face in her paws, her expression one of mock contemplation.

'I guess that would be Gemini.'

Mistoffelees kissed her neck gently, his hot breath ticking her skin as he replied.

'Mine too.'

* * *

He watched her sleeping. She had fallen asleep in his arms several hours ago and Mistoffelees still found it hard to take his eyes away from her. He had somehow carried her back to her room after she had dozed off, but couldn't bare to leave her. As he heard the dawn chorus he silently cursed. Gently, he placed the sleeping queen in her bed, stroking her cheek and kissing her forehead tenderly. He stood for a moment, trying to commit every part of her to memory.

Then, with a flash of light and quiet hiss, Mistoffelees was out of the window, the window was locked shut again and he was gone.

He couldn't bear to look back.


	9. Right?

Plato and MungoJerrie were on patrol. After suffering his punishment, Mungojerrie had finally been allowed back into the ranks of Macavity's henchcats. He had been put on guard duty with another new tom, Plato. The two of them had walked in silence, both unimpressed at being forced to stay awake on such a cold night. Rubbing his frozen paws, Mungojerrie attempted to start up a conversation to pass the time.

'So… Ya new here?'

It was lame, but the tabby was tired and it was the best he could do.

'Yeah.' was the only reply he got.

'What do ya think of it?' Mungojerrie tried in vain to get the silent tom to speak.

'Well..' For the first time Mungojerrie could see the young tom's expression more clearly. He looked frightened.

'Dun worry. I aint gonna tell anyone.'

'Well, to be honest, I don't know what to make of Macavity. He just looks like he wouldn't trust you to do anything and…' Plato paused before continuing. 'He just seems to be so angry at everything.'

Mungojerrie sighed. Plato would never understand Macavity, no-one ever would now.

Plato continued with his impression of Macavity.

'He looks crazed… Like he's gone mad!'

Looking sadly over the skyline, Mungojerrie exhaled deeply, letting his hot breath warm his already numb paws.

'If you don't go mad after something like that, you don't have a heart.'

* * *

'How do I tell her?' Macavity slammed his fist on the desk, refusing to wait for an answer.

'ANSWER ME!'

The henchcats looked helplessly at each other. It had been Melanic who dealt with Macavity's personal issues. They were clueless in the face of such raw emotion. Among them, Mungojerrie stood watching the emotions cross over the ginger toms face. Anger, hurt, worry, fear – they were all there. As Macavity met his eyes he realise he had been staring and quickly snapped his eyes away.

'Get out. All of you.' His voice was heavy, anger concealed behind a calm exterior. He turned for a second before calling after them.

'Wait. Can I speak to Mungojerrie and Plato please?'

Mungojerrie scrunched his nose in annoyance. He had been halfway through his lunch when the meeting had been called and he just wanted to get back to eating.

He turned to look at the other tom in the room. He was a tall tom, almost reaching the same height as Macavity, despite his young age. Even with his size, his expression and posture made his look like a tiny kitten. He was scared. Mungojerrie shrugged to him, hoping to give him some encouragement. He knew what is was to anger Macavity, he had the scars to prove it.

'Night watch. Both of you. Mungojerrie, show Plato the ropes, as he's new. See he doesn't get into the same trouble you did.' Macavity's voice was monotone and his sentences short.

It was then that Mungojerrie understood what made Macavity the leader. In the face of such betrayal and pain, any other cat would have broken down and lost control. Even when it was clear he was hurting, Macavity did not let it get in the way of business. You only had to look at the way his henchcats followed him to understand the respect they had for the ginger tom.

'Yes Sir.' Mungojerrie nodded and waited to be dismissed.

'I'm giving you a chance to prove yourself 'Jerrie. I know you have potential. Don't waste it. Now you may go.'

As both of the toms left, Mungojerrie heard Macavity call after him, telling him that his sister was to visit Victoria that afternoon. Mungojerrie sighed; With 'Teazer being the only queen on Macavity's team, all the motherly jobs fell to her.

* * *

With his henchcats gone, Macavity sank into his 'chair'. In his mind he though over the events of the last two days. The day of Melanic's disappearance had begun as usual, with him briefing his henchcats on the days work and retiring to his 'office' to go over his plans. It was there he realised he hadn't seen Melanic at the briefing. He had called in some of his workers to ask if they had seen him and eventually sent them to find him.

That was when the whole day had gone devastatingly wrong. Melanic's den had been found empty. Unable to believe it, Macavity had gone to investigate himself. The den had been completely cleared of it's contents, it was hard to believe anyone had ever lived there. His reaction had been one of utter confusion and disbelief, eventually turning to anger. He immediately put his anger to good use, channelling the feelings into preparing an investigation. He ordered one cat to find out when Victoria had last seen Mistoffelees and on hearing her reply concluded that they were not far away. A search party had been sent out, but returned without finding the runaways.

'They have three days. I want posters up, rumours started, anything you can get to bring them back. They will have a chance to explain themselves. After that,' He nodded to a tom to his right. 'You know what to do.'

It had been two days since then and there had been no sign of the two toms.

With his head in his hands, Macavity knew that Victoria had to be told. As for what she was told, he would decide that later. Sometimes lies could cause less pain than the truth. Macavity just wished he knew the truth. He couldn't understand what had made Melanic so desperate that he would risk his life. All of the henchcats knew when they joined that the penalty for betrayal was death. No exceptions made.

A single tear dropped onto the 'desk' in front of him. The first tear Macavity had shed in over ten years. His eyes jerked open as he felt a soft paw wipe away the damp trail the tear had left on his cheek.

'I thought I told you to see Victoria.'

With a seriousness in her voice Macavity had never heard before, Rumpleteazer replied.

'She's not the only one who's hurting.'

Her dark eyes were wearing an expression Macavity had never seen before. It was a cross between concern and something else, something he couldn't work out. Rumpleteazer had become invaluable when dealing with Victoria. She was a female influence and acted as both a mother figure and a friend. Macavity himself rarely had chance to speak to her but found that when he did, she was good company and a change from the 'rough-around-the-edges' toms he usually talked to.

'You need to leave, I have work to do.' Macavity pulled her paw away from his face and pretended to look down at the pile of paper in front of him. He was concentrating so hard on the black and white letters he didn't notice her walk around until she was standing right next to him.

'You need to stop trying to act like everything's fine. You're not the Rumpus cat.'

'No. I'm not.' Macavity had given up trying to get rid of her and just answered her as simply as he could. He felt her paws slip into his and groaned as he felt himself pulled to his feet. He stood limply, looking down at the determined expression on the queen's face.

'Well you need to stop trying to be him then.'

Macavity couldn't help smiling at the sharp tone of her voice. She was such a petite queen; it was entertaining to find himself being ordered about by her. It took a moment for him to realise he was still holding her paws and as soon as he did, he dropped them like they were hot coals.

Rumpleteazer rolled her eyes. 'I've not got a contagious disease!'

As she watched him sit back down, Rumpleteazer, just as her brother had, realised something about Macavity.

'Why are you so scared of showing affection? You're cold to almost everyone. You're even distancing yourself from Victoria and she's your own daughter!'

Macavity stood up with such force, Rumpleteazer leapt back.

'Because if you get attached, you get hurt. Cats come into your life but no-one ever stays. In the end, they always leave you. That's why it's safer to never grow close to anyone, or trust them, or…' Macavity paused and looked helplessly at Rumpleteazer who gently took his head in both of her paws. Then, standing on her tiptoes so she could reach, she kissed him.

'Or love them. Right?'

Then, wiping her tears away, she left the room.


	10. Twisted

The sunset on the third day was red. As Macavity watched the sun sink he felt his heart go with it. There was no stopping now. He would have to give the order. He heard a knock at the door and expected to see one of his captains. He prepared to tell him what they were to do when he realised that the cat coming into the room was Rumpleteazer. She walked in silently, walking straight up to the window.

'Wow the sunset is amazing tonight.'

Macavity scowled.

'Cut to the chase, 'Teazer, you're here to make me change my mind aren't you?'

He had hit the nail on the head. The young queen turned to glare at him like a kitten that had been caught doing something wrong.

'Well it won't work. I don't want it to happen any more than you do.'

Macavity joined Rumpleteazer at the window, watching the last rays of light fade behind the clouds.

'But I don't understand why. Couldn't you leave it? Do you really have to kill them both?'

Macavity just stared blankly out into the distance.

'Look at me when I'm talking to you.' Rumplteazer pulled Macavity by the shoulder so he was facing her. She looked up at his eyes. They were glassy.

'They expect me to do it. They cannot think I will not go through with my promises.'

'But Mistoffelees is barely out of kittenhood. Surely you cannot kill him for his father's betrayal?'

Macavity half-heartedly smiled. He had seen no way out of what he was about to do. Now here Rumpleteazer was; the voice of reason.

'You really think I am a heartless monster don't you?'

Gently the petite queen rested one of her paws on Macavity's chest.

'You have a heart. But I don't think you listen to it. I know you're going to give me the old "It'll get broken" Speech but maybe...' She paused for a second, her paw tracing the stripes on the ginger tom's chest.

'one day you could listen to it?'

Slowly Macavity reached up to take her paw. His face creased as she snatched it away and looked guiltily towards the door. It creaked open to reveal one of the four captains. Rumpleteazer had no idea which one.

'We await your orders sir.'

Macavity nodded before leaving the room quickly. There was one thing he had to do before he made his decision.

* * *

He reached the door of her room and hesitated before entering. Then, twisting the key in the lock gently, he went inside. Victoria was sat on her bed, her gaze fixed straight ahead of her, her eyes glued to the wall. As the door creaked she didn't even look round.

'He's gone isn't he?' The words were out of the snowy queens mouth before her father had even thought about it.

'And he's not coming back.'

It wasn't often Macavity was without a plan but right now his mind was empty. The words that slipped out of his mouth were not the words he would have chosen, had he thought about it.

'Are you alright?'

They were simple, emotionless, heartless and just plain stupid and Macavity scolded himself for being so careless.

As she turned to face him he saw her properly for the first time. She looked weak, thin and as if she hadn't slept for years, though it had barely been a few days. Her voice was hoarse as she replied. The tears half choking her.

'I doubt I'll ever be alright again.'

Macavity walked awkwardly out of the room, shutting the door behind him and locking it without thinking and running straight into the massive figure that was his captain.

'Sir, we are still waiting for your…'

The ginger tom flashed him a look that made the huge tom shut his mouth at lightening speed.

'Kill the traitor but spare the kit. That doesn't mean leave him out. Just make sure he's too scared to ever come near this place again.'

* * *

Melanic was dead. Word came through by the next morning that he had been found and killed within an hour of the henchcats finding him. They said he barely attempted to fight back.

With all his heart Macavity tried to tell himself that it was his friends death that was hurting him but he knew otherwise. If he was honest, his friend's death meant no more to him than the death of one of his henchcats. And he was hurt because of the betrayal but what hurt him most was having to watch his daughter slowly fade away. She had stopped eating, stopped sleeping and wouldn't speak to anyone.

He was sat on the roof of the warehouse, away from the bustle inside and in the cold night air. The wind rustled and blew an icy breeze through his fur just as he heard the footsteps creep behind him. He felt Rumpleteazer sit next to him and rest her head gently on his shoulder.

'You did the right thing.'

His voice as he replied was emotionless.

'I'm an evil mastermind. I'm not meant to do the right thing.'

Rumpleteazer scowled.

'If you're going to be moody, I'll go. I just thought you might want someone to talk to.' She stood up to leave as she felt Macavity grab her paw.

'I'm sorry', he said getting up. 'There's a lot on my mind.'

Gently he stood up and took her other paw, not managing to look her in the eye as he did.

'I just don't know what's right or wrong anymore. I just feel…'

He shook his head sadly and let go of Rumpleteazer's paws.

He felt her paws softly cup his face, lifting his chin up so he was looking directly into her eyes.

'Tell me.'

For a moment he thought his heart had stopped.

'I'm wrong. Everything about me is twisted.'

The tabby queens face scrunched into a puzzled expression and she opened her mouth to defend him when he shushed her.

'No, hear me out. You said yourself, I did the right thing. But since when has killing a tom been the right thing? And I don't stop. Everything I do is wrong. I steal, murder, cheat. Everlasting cat! I can't even play cards without cheating. Then when I have a chance to show mercy, It takes you to tell me how I can do it. It's wrong for me to trust anyone and I can't ever let myself fall in love.'

He had begun pacing agitatedly, his eyes and gestures wild. Suddenly he stopped, turning to look Rumpleteazer deeply in the eyes.

'In my world, killing is right and trust is wrong. Now tell me I'm not twisted and evil.'

He stood gasping for air after his outburst, tears trickling down his cheeks as he fell to his knees and clasped his face in his paws. Rumpleteazer just stood speechless.

Finally finding her feet, she crept up to the crumpled ginger tom. Taking his paws away from his face, she sighed.

'You're not evil. You're a wonderful father to Victoria and a brilliant leader to your cats. Never forget the good things you do or the responsibility you carry.'

She knelt up so her face was millimetres away from Macavitys'.

'I promise I won't ever ask you to do this again. But… trust me.'

And then she kissed him.

* * *

**I can't tell you how sorry I am for the length of time it has taken me to get this chapter up. Everythin's been so busy I've barely had time to think! But yeah, I hope this was ok.**


	11. Breathless

He was running, running as fast as his short, weak legs would carry him. All around the branches of trees and thorns ripped at his skin. Sweat poured down his face and blood dripped from the scratches that covered his skin. He could feel the energy draining out of him but still he continued to run. Every so often he would glance behind, fearful that they were still chasing him. His mind told him he was safe but his instincts had taken over and he kept running. It was always the same, he escaped but kept running. He looked back over his shoulder once more before his face collided with the floor.

'Stupid tree root' he muttered as he rubbed the lump forming on his head. He looked up to see a bright white light, getting brighter and bigger as it came closer. He squinted to try to see what was causing the light and gasp as Victoria's face came into focus.

Mistoffelees woke up gasping for breath. He would never understand why he had recurring dreams. Maybe it was part of the whole 'magical powers' deal, he didn't know. Either way, for the past year he had dreamt almost every night of the night his father was killed. Only recently had the dream begun to finish with the bright light. Occasionally the image of Victoria spoke and she always said the same thing:

'Help me.'

* * *

Victoria lay on her bed staring at the ceiling. She tried to tell herself she was over Misto but she could never fully believe it. She spent most days thinking about him and most nights dreaming about him. It had been over a year since he had left and still she was hurting. She didn't hear Plato come in and leapt out of her skin as he greeted her.

'You're thinking about him again aren't you? I know that face Vic.'

The snowy queen scowled and sat up to look at him.

'Don't call me that. Ever.'

Plato reached over and touched her arm gently.

'I'm sorry, I just thought…'

'You're not Misto. You never will be so please stop trying to be.'

'I thought you were over him? You tell me every day you are but you're not are you? I don't like being second best Victoria. You know how I feel about you.'

He took the young queens paw.

'I don't want to share you with anyone.'

Victoria smiled and pecked Plato lightly on his cheek.

'I know. I'm sorry. He's like a ghost I just can't seem to stop haunting me.'

Plato stood up, pulling Victoria with him. Placing one paw comfortably on her waist he stroked her cheek with the other.

'I understand. I'll come and see you this afternoon. I've got a surprise for you.'

Victoria smirked and wound her paws around his neck.

'And no matter how hard I whine you're not going to tell me?'

'Nope. Anyway, I have to go now. Looks like you'll have to be patient.'

'You know I don't do patience.'

'There's always time to learn' Plato replied kissing her playfully on her nose as he turned to leave.

'Plato?' He turned in answer to his name just as Victoria threw herself at him, hugging him happily. He hugged her back, smiling as she whispered into his ear.

'Thank you. You always know how to cheer me up.'

He locked the door behind him as he left. He knew it was more that his life was worth to leave it open. Macavity had told him that the day he had been given the key.

Victoria sat down on her bed. She loved Plato just not in the way he loved her. He was a friend, at times more but never someone she loved deeply the way she had loved Mistoffelees. She heard the door clicked open and Victoria turned expecting to see Plato coming back for something he had forgotten. It never occurred to her that Plato had nothing to forget.

Her heart stopped as she recognised him, even with his white fur smeared with black.

'Misto?'

* * *

She had changed. She was taller, thinner, more beautiful than when he had last seen her, if that was possible. Her childish figure had completely gone and her face had matured. At that moment her expression could only be described as one of horror.

He searched for words but nothing came out. He just stood there awkwardly whilst Victoria watched him.

She gulped, trying to figure out what emotions were running through her body before she spoke. Eventually she asked the only question that seemed to make sense.

'What are you doing here?'

'I came to see you.'

What came out next surprised her.

'You need to leave. My father will kill you if he find out you're here.'

'I missed you.'

Suddenly Victoria realised what emotion she was feeling. Anger.

'I thought you were dead. I wasted away, you almost killed my Father with your little game, nearly ruined the business and all you can say is "I missed you"?'

Victoria still looked at him blankly.

'Why didn't you come back?'

'My father stopped me…'

'The Henchcats killed Melanic four days after he escaped. I thought you might come back but you didn't.'

'They threatened me. And they told me you hated me.'

'You believed them?' Victoria's expression was one of disgust.

'I was too dangerous, I could have hurt you.'

The snowy queen's voice was icy. 'I think you've managed that already. What really made you come back Misto?'

The use of her old nickname for him told Misto that she wasn't as coldhearted as she was acting.

'I wanted to see you.'

'The real reason.'

Mistoffelees ran his claws through his head fur and inhaled deeply.

'Ok. How about this? I love you. I have come back because I've spent every day since I left thinking about you and every night dreaming about you. I've come back hoping that somehow you will manage to forgive me for all the pain I've caused you and accept me as what I am.'

The white queen watched him with a puzzled expression.

'And what's that?'

'The most foolish tom in existence who is madly in love with the most beautiful and perfect queen there is and would be willing to work as her slave for the rest of his life if it only meant he could be near her.'

Mistoffelees walked over slowly, taking both her paws in his own.

'Please? Forgive me?'

As Victoria's eyes met his own he knew he had broken through her disguise. He smiled and opened his mouth to speak. However he felt his breath cut short as suddenly her lips were on his. He kissed her back, every single moment and emotion he had missed went into that kiss and even the thought of it left him breathless for the rest of his life. Her paws were around his neck and in his head fur, his own paws holding her so close and tightly he felt her heartbeat against his chest. He felt the salty taste of tears mingle on his lips and tore himself away to see where the tears had come from.

Victoria sank to her knees sobbing.

'I'm sorry. I can't do this.'

Misto sat on his haunches, taking her by the shoulders.

'Can't do what?'

Her voice was hoarse, cracked as she replied.

'It would destroy them.' She didn't wait for Mistoffelees to ask who it would destroy.

'My Father, Plato, you.' She shook her had at the tuxedo toms protest.

'No, it would. My father has been betrayed by too many people already, I think it would kill him if he found out. Plato too. He loves me too much. And you.'

Her eyes pleaded with him to understand.

'It will kill you to keep it secret, the lies, danger and if anyone finds out. They will kill you.'

Mistoffelees closed his eyes in frustration; more with himself than her. He knew it would hurt him too much that he could never be with Victoria properly. Like she said, it would probably destroy him.

'It wasn't me who betrayed your father.'

'But you betrayed me. In his eyes, it's the same thing.'

'Escape with me. Leave all this and be free. We could be together and no-one would stop us.' He grabbed her paws in his excitement but she pulled them away.

'Last time you ran away someone ended up dead. I'm the daughter of the Napoleon of crime. You'll be labelled a kidnapper and hunted down. Don't be stupid Misto.'

'Are you saying you'd rather be a prisoner all your life than spend it in freedom with me?'

Victoria couldn't look him in the eye as she nodded.

'You need to leave. Before somebody sees you.'

'You won't consider coming with me?'

Victoria shook her snowy head sadly.

'Well I'll go then.'

Victoria struggled to her feet, the tears falling more rapidly now.

'Misto, _please!_'

'I'll give you one last chance.' He leaned off the window ledge he was sat on and held out his paw. He clenched it into a fist as Victoria's own paws stayed clasped to her chest.

'I'll be going then. Goodbye Vic.' Then in the blink of an eye he was gone.


	12. Trust?

It took him three steps to regret his decision. He cursed himself silently, kicking an old bottle in his frustration. Seeing Victoria again had made him realise how much he loved that pampered princess. He turned round slowly, looking up at the foreboding building that was the headquarters of the Napoleon of crime. The roof glinted like the blade of a knife in the light of the moon and for some reason it looked much more unwelcoming than it had moments earlier. Perhaps it was because Mistoffelees was about to do something completely insane.

He gulped down his fear and put his best paw forward (which incidentally was his right one).

* * *

The thud as his body made contact with the wall echoed through the room. He heard something in his body crack but felt no pain and as he slumped to the floor. Mistoffelees looked helplessly up at the coal black tom that was towering over him, curling up in a desperate attempt to protect himself. He flinched as the tom pulled his paw back to throw another punch, waiting for the impact on his already battered and bruised body. He kept waiting but it never came. Growing more confident, Mistoffelees removed his paws from where they had been covering his face. His eyes met with the face that had haunted his nightmares for so long

His eyes were red and his ginger fur bristling with anger. He was crouched so his face was level with Mistoffelees. He watched the struggling tom carefully, studying him as he tried to get to his feet. His eyebrows raised in mock amusement as he saw the determination in the tuxedo tom's face.

'Well' he said as he forced Mistoffelees against the wall and closed his long claws around his neck. 'I admire your persistence.'

He released his grasp, letting the exhausted tom drop to the floor, and returned to sit in a chair placed behind him.

'But I am yet to know the reasoning behind it.' He leaned over so his eyes were level with Mistoffelees.

'So go on. Tell me.'

Seeing the defiance in the young tom's face, Macavity clicked his fingers. Within a split second a tom stood to the right of Macavity had punched the worn out tom square in the face, sending him sprawling once again.

Macavity continued in his deep, gravelly voice.

'You know you're only making this difficult for yourself, Mistoffelees. I simply want to know why you are trespassing on MY property and why you will not leave.'

Managing to speak through the blood that was dripping down his face, Mistoffelees finally answered him.

'I want a job.'

'And what makes you think I would ever give you a job?' Macavity expression was as dark as the fur of the tom stood next to him.

'You were told never to come back here. I spared your life once and unless you give me a very good reason why you should live, I won't make that mistake again.'

Mistoffelees continued, his breathing uneven and haggard.

'I would work hard, and I have more to offer than most.'

'Prove it.'

Then without a word Mistoffelees stood up. Macavity was smirking in apprehension as the young tom directed his gaze at one of the captains. The sparks played at his fingers as he saw the uneasy expression cross the captains face. Then, with a quick flash and crunch, the tom was on his knees clutching the scorched skin stretching all down his right arm. The tom on the other side however was staring out of the window, exclaiming that he could see 'pretty colours' and flying pigs.

Macavity's expression had not changed.

'I'm mildly impressed but I still don't see it as reason enough to spare you. After all, if you are this powerful now, when you are weak, what's to stop you killing me when you are strong?'

Mistoffelees' confidence was growing and his determination with it.

'I swear on my father's grave I will not. I will be loyal to you.'

Macavity's eyebrows rose slightly at this but he dismissed the words with a wave of his hand.

'You're father was a liar and a betrayer.'

'I am not my father.'

Macavity nodded slowly, thinking.

'Yes but I need more assurance. After all, your previous connections will be a problem.'

Macavity smiled as he saw Mistoffelees gulp.

'My friendship with Victoria is not the reason I want a job.'

'I struggle to believe that Mistoffelees which is why I am going to ask you to do something for me. You said you will be loyal. Now I want to know how loyal.'

He snapped his fingers again and this time Mistoffelees was taken inside the warehouse itself and along its winding corridors. He was half carried, half dragged by the two captains who were no longer under his power. He felt his heart sink as he recognised the door he was stood outside of.

'I noticed hypnosis was among your powers. You said Victoria had nothing to do with wishing to work for me so this will clear any problems we may have. I want her to forget you. And I want it to be permanent.'

Mistoffelees felt the grip on his arms tighten as Macavity turned the key in the lock. Then with a whisper of 'I'll be watching.' Mistoffelees was in Victoria's room.

* * *

She was lounging on her bed, reading one of her old mythology books and humming to herself tunelessly. At his footsteps she looked up, her eyes growing wide as she saw him.

'Misto? Why are you here? How? I didn't see you come in.' She sat up, putting her book down and watching him.

Mistoffelees remained silent and continued towards her, keeping his eyes on her.

She shuffled uncomfortably under his gaze. 'Misto, What are you doing? Why won't you answer me?'

He was stood in front of her now, still expressionless and silent, his mind focused on what he was about to do. She watched him, her expression growing wary and puzzled.

She placed her paws on his shoulders, stroking his neck and face, desperately trying to get a reaction.

'Misto? It's Vic. Please Misto! Answer me!' She was becoming more panicked and jumpy. Then suddenly she began to shut her eyes and shake her head as the hypnosis began to work. It took her barely a few seconds to realise the cause of her confusion.

'What? Misto, what are you doing?' She began to back away, crawling backwards on her bed to get away from him.

He followed her, keeping his eyes on hers.

'You're inside my head. GET OUT!' She slashed him with her claws, leaving three bleeding stripes across his face. For a moment his concentration faltered and Victoria exhaled, no longer under his spell.

She curled up in an attempt to protect herself. From under her arms Mistoffelees heard her whimper.

'Why are you doing this Misto? What have I done wrong?'

Mistoffelees sighed, taking both her wrists and pulling them away from her face.

'You've not done anything wrong. It's just easier this way.'

She looked up at his voice and he caught her again.

'Easier what way?'

'Easier if you don't remember me.'

The snowy queen's eyes grew wide and she began to struggle ferociously. Tears began to spill from her eyes as she felt everything begin to go cloudy.

'Please Misto.' She whimpered weakly, 'I don't want to forget you. I love you.'

Then, although Mistoffelees knew she must be close to unconsciousness, she softly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. She was not unlike a snowflake at that moment, delicately pressing her lips against his, but melting away as she passed out. She could have sworn she heard Misto apologise but she was fading into oblivion so fast, she wasn't sure if it was just her own wishful thinking.


	13. Plan B

Macavity appeared behind Mistoffelees, placing a paw heavily on his shoulder, making him jump.

'Well done, son. I understand that this won't wear off?'

Mistoffelees nodded his head. He blamed the aching in his chest on exhaustion and stood up.

'She won't even recognise me.'

Macavity patted his back in a way that made the exhausted tom's whole body lurch forward.

'Excellent. You may stay. Have your old room back.' Then as Misto turned to leave he spoke again.

'Oh and if she does remember you… well you know what I do to liars and traitors.'

Misto nodded his head again and left, leaving Macavity with Victoria.

Alone with his daughter, Macavity relaxed. His face softened as he sat down on her bed, stroking her cheek gently.

Her eyelids began to flutter and she sat up weakly. She looked around, bewildered and then looked at Macavity.

'Dad? Why are you here?'

Macavity smiled. 'I just wanted to see my daughter.' He held out his arms and she crawled over to hug him.

'I had the strangest dream. I dreamt that I was with this strange tom and he was trying to turn me into one of his mindless workers by brainwashing me.' She giggled at Macavity's worried expression. 'Don't worry Dad! It's only a dream. It's not real.'

Macavity nodded and stood up.

'I need to go back to work now.' He pecked her on her forehead and turned to leave.

'I'll send Plato here later. If you want?'

Victoria nodded her snowy head and smiled.

'I'd like that.'

Her smile faded the moment the key turned in the lock. She looked down at her wrists, lifting them closer to her face to look at them properly. They had begun hurting not soon after she had woken up although she didn't mention it to her father.

They were red and bruised, almost as though someone had been holding them tightly.

Victoria lay down on her bed in confusion. She knew she hadn't dreamt it. Her sore wrists were proof of that. So who was the mysterious tom?

She shook her head and decided she must be ill. She was struggling to focus, her head was aching and she felt really sleepy. She decided that she would investigate the strange tuxedo tom later.

'Maybe Plato will help me.' She said to herself sleepily before closing her eyes and drifting into another dream.

* * *

'What were you thinking?' Rumpleteazer stormed into Macavity's 'office' and slammed her paws on his 'desk'.

'He's barely older than Victoria.'

'He shouldn't have come here.' Macavity didn't even look up from his work to reply. He was planning the next theft at Victoria Grove.

'You'd be able to lead that raid tomorrow wouldn't you?'

The frustrated tabby threw her paws in the air.

'Macavity? Are you listening to me?'

'Yes.'

Rumpleteazer hissed, grabbed the pen out of his paw and threw it across the room. Still, much to her annoyance, Macavity paid her no attention. So she slapped him. He stared at her gobsmacked.

'Right, now that I've got your attention…' She began forcefully, walking closer to him. 'Can you please explain why I have just seen Mistoffelees walking down the corridor looking like he's been put through a blender.'

Macavity shrugged and slouched back in his chair. 'He came back.'

'And you thought you'd give him a nice warm welcome.'

'Precisely. Now if you would leave me alone, I have work to do.'

'You beat a defenceless tom half to death and you don't seem to care! What's wrong with you?'

'He is not in any way defenceless. He just chose to be.'

'What? Macavity, you're not making sense.'

'I'm not trying to.' Macavity's voice remained smooth and level as Rumpleteazer got more and more frustrated with him.

'You're impossible!'

'And you're annoying. Now leave me alone.' Macavity replied, still refusing to look at her.

Then with an aggravated scream Rumpleteazer left, slamming the door behind her. Macavity sat for a moment with his head in his hands, smirking to himself.

'She's going to hate me for this.' He said to himself as went to look for her.

* * *

He found her along one of the older corridors in the building, leaning against the wall, muttering to herself angrily. He stood for a moment watching her, amused.

She looked up lividly.

'What are you smirking at?'

'Well if looks could kill.' he began.

'I wish they could.' She retorted, quick as a flash.

Macavity sauntered over so he was level with her.

'You're cute when you're angry.'

'I'm a thief. I am not in any way 'cute'.'

'Fine then. Hot, stunning, gorgeous, beautiful. Take your pick.'

'What exactly are you trying to do?' she asked suspiciously.

'I'm trying to stop you sulking.'

'You're not doing very well.'

Macavity pretended to think. 'Well I'll have to resort to plan B then.'

The tabby queen regarded him suspiciously. 'What's plan B?'

Macavity didn't reply. He simply reached up so his paw was holding her face, leaned in and kissed her before she had chance to object. He chuckled as he felt her kiss him back.

'I win.' He purred, wrapping his arms around her waist.

'I hate you.'

'Erm… Sir?'

At the sound of someone's voice Macavity and Rumpleteazer split like lightening.

'Yes?' Macavity cleared his throat awkwardly.

'The captains are waiting for your instructions regarding Victoria grove and Plato wanted to know…'

Macavity sighed. 'Yes, I'll be there in a second. You may go.'

The embarrassed tom scuttled off and Macavity returned his paws to where they were moments earlier.

'I told you I had a lot of work to do.'

Rumpleteazer smiled, her claws tracing the patterns on Macavity's chest.

'But you've still got a lot to explain.'

Macavity rolled his eyes playfully.

'Go and find Mistoffelees. Fix him up, play the friendly mother, question him. Do what you want. I'll see you later.'

He kissed her, laughing as he had to remove her arms from around his neck.

'Save it for later.' Then with a wink he left her. Stood alone in the corridor she took his advice and went to find Mistoffelees.


	14. Gifts

Plato had been annoyed when he had been told his meeting with Victoria had been put off again but, stood outside her door again, he was much happier. He knocked on the door quietly and pushed it open. He peeped round and smiled. She was lying gracefully on her bed, snoring contentedly. He walked in quietly, placing the items in his paws quietly down on the floor. At the quiet padding of his paws, Victoria's eyelids fluttered open. It took her a moment to register her surroundings but soon she was sat up, smiling at the tall tom who had just sauntered into her room.

Plato smiled back, perching on the end of her bed. 'Up bright and early aren't we?' He chuckled cheekily as he felt a harmless punch knock his shoulder. Victoria was soon sat next to him, her petite paws wrapped around his waist.

'I've missed you.' Plato wound his paw around her shoulder.

'I've missed you too.'

* * *

Mistoffelees was sat in his room blankly staring at the wall when Rumpleteazer entered. She took one look at him, scowled and returned with a bucket of water and a cloth. She perched on the end of his bed gently and began to clean the cuts and scratches that covered his body. Mistoffelees regarded her suspiciously but didn't pull away and let her clean his wounds.

'So, are you going to tell me how you got like this?'

Mistoffelees remain silent and stared pointedly at the wall in front of him.

Rumpleteazer frowned and stood up.

'Don't make things difficult for yourself, Mistoffelees. You came back. No-one made you. So I can either sit here and clean you up, because to be honest you're a mess. Or I can leave you. Do you want me to help you?'

Mistoffelees nodded slowly.

'Good, now how about answering my question.'

Rumpleteazer sat herself back down and began once again to clean away the blood that covered most of the small tom's body.

'Macavity attacked me. Well… him and some of his cats.'

Rumpleteazer nodded.

'And? Go on. Believe me, I've got time. You're going to take a while to fix up. Why did he attack you?'

'I wasn't meant to be there. I suppose it was stupid but I wanted a job. My father worked here and I know how it works. It's the only way of life I'm familiar with.'

He gasped as the substance Rumpleteazer was rubbing in began to sting. The tiger striped queen just rolled her eyes.

'Stop being such a baby. You're going to have to toughen up if you're going to be dealing with Macavity on a daily basis.'

Mistoffelees frowned and winces as his legs began to burn as another ointment was spread on. 'What makes you think I'm going to get myself into trouble?'

'Well you don't fit the 'Macavity's gang' Stereotype. To be honest, you're not the kind of tom I would imagine Macavity giving a job to. And let's face it, your history isn't going to help.'

Mistoffelees shrugged. 'If you're talking about Victoria, that won't be a problem any more.'

He felt Rumpleteazer pause and looked up. She looked horrified.

'Mistoffelees. Victoria loves you more deeply than you could ever imagine.'

It was as though those word were like a pin and they had popped the growing balloon of emotion building up inside the small tuxedo tom's body. He leapt out of his seat and stormed across the small room, slamming his fist into the wall.

'Well she wouldn't come with me would she?' Tears had begun to fall rapidly down his face. 'If she loved me so much, why did she not want to leave with me? I could have looked after her but she chose to stay here. WHY?' He rested his head on the wall, frustrated. Only then did he remember why he had to keep his emotions under control.

'Rumpleteazer?' His voice was hoarse with panic.

'Yes?' She was sat, staring open mouthed at the small emotional tom.

'Move.' Mistoffelees' voice was still quiet but as the tabby queen stayed put, its volume rose.

''TEAZER. MOVE!' Finally understanding the urgency, Rumpleteazer moved from where she was sitting, running out of the way just as a blinding bolt of lightening hit the spot where she had just been sitting. When the dust cleared, the bed was gone. Mistoffelees was stood panting and without a word he fell to his knees, placing his head in his paws. Rumpleteazer walked over, wrapping her arms around the shaking tom.

'She still loves you.'

Mistoffelees shook his head, looking the confused queen in the eye.

'She doesn't even know who I am anymore. And it's all my fault.'

* * *

'Plato?' Victoria rested her head delicately on his shoulder. 'Maybe, one day. If I ask my father…' She paused for a second thinking of how to phrase her question. 'I could come and meet some of your friends?'

They had been talking for hours. Victoria never tired of listening to Plato's stories about his friends and the work he did. He made sure he never mentioned the more violent jobs.

'I'm not sure that's a good idea. Anyway, you've still not told me why you were fast asleep.'

Victoria shrugged. 'I've just had a bit of a headache that's all. But Just before you came in… I was having the strangest dream. It was like I was watching myself as a kitten, playing and growing up. It was very strange.'

Suddenly Plato sat up. 'I forgot. I've got something for you. He stood up and went to where he had left the small box. He scooped it up and went back to where he had been sitting before.

'Close your eyes.' Plato gently placed the small box into the white queen's outstretched paws.

Victoria opened her eyes and with a puzzled expression opened the box. Inside was the mot beautiful collar she had ever seen.

'The gems on it. I thought they looked like pearls and pearl is one of your starstones isn't it? You're a Gemini.'

Victoria nodded, almost in a daze as she handed the collar to Plato for him to put it on for her.

Plato noticed her expression. 'What's wrong? Do you not like it?'

'No, Of course I do! It's the most beautiful collar I've ever seen. It's just… I'll never get to show it to anyone if I can't go out.'

She let Plato hug her and pretended to feel better just for him but inside she was searching through her mind.

Someone else had told her she was a Gemini but why couldn't she remember who?


	15. Recognition

**Massive apology for the length of time it's taken me to do this. School work and rehearsals have kept me stupidly busy...**

* * *

Mistoffelees was sat in the main meeting room in the warehouse, picking at the food he had been given. The toms on hunting duty hadn't done a good job and the rat in front of him didn't look even half way edible. He glanced round at the other toms near him; they too were looking at their dinner with similar expressions of disgust. There was a quiet buzz of conversation from the various groups of toms and every so often the rush of a large vehicle would rattle the thin sheet of mettle covering the entrance to the hall. Mistoffelees was sat with a group of toms who had 'adopted' him, trying to remember their names.

Just sat across from him there was a striped Tabby they called Jerrie who was the joker of the group and also one of the best cat-burglars in Macavity's team, or so he kept saying. Next to him was Fulvous, a shy, russet-coloured tom who often bore the brunt of Jerrie's jokes. Crouched next to Mistoffelees was the less-than-dignified Porus, who was the only one enjoying his food. The only ones missing from their usual crowd were Plato and Jerrie's sister, Rumpleteazer. It wasn't unusual for Rumpleteazer to disappear, she regularly had other jobs to see to being the only queen but Plato had never missed a meal while Mistoffelees had been around.

'Does anyone know where Plato is?' The tuxedo tom took one last disgusting bite of his dinner and launched it across the room.

The other toms didn't even bother to look up. 'He's probably with that queen of his.' Jerrie said with a hint of envy in his tone.

'Queen?' Mistoffelees tried to look surprised and interested but beneath the surface, his mind was whirring.

'Yeah, pure white they say she is. Quite a looker from what I've heard. Although I've never seen her. There are only three cats who have ever been near her: Macavity, Plato and my sister.'

Mistoffelees nodded, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Then from out of the blue, Fulvious spoke.

'They say she is Macavity's daughter. But that can't be right? I mean, if she's white. Well…I suppose she could get it from her mother but surely she would have inherited some of Macavity's colouring?'

The whole circle of toms turned to stare. This was the first time Fulvous had spoken all day. After a stunned silence they regained their composure.

Porus chewed on his meat thoughtfully. 'You sayin' she's not his daughter?'

Jerrie shook his head, confused. 'That doesn't make sense. Why would he guard her like he does if…'

He stopped as he saw the mouth of every tom in the room drop open in shock. He turned round to face the front of the hall where Plato was standing and gasped.

* * *

Mistoffelees had sensed her presence before he turned round. The magic he had used on her was still in a way, connected to him and he could feel it radiating through the air and tickling his skin. Although he was itching to, he waited until the last moment before he looked up, waiting for the other toms to see her first. He felt sick when he finally twisted round to look. She was stood, with Plato's arm protectively around her, staring him straight in the eye. He tried desperately to look away but she kept his gaze. He was like a rat, captured in the eyes of a predator that could kill him in a second but enjoyed his torment. He could feel himself start to panic as he watched her expression grow puzzled. Then something flashed across her eyes that made Mistoffelees stop breathing.

Recognition.

'Hey, Quaxo? You alright mate?' Mistoffelees was shaken out his daze by Jerrie's puzzled voice. It took him a moment to realise the tiger striped tom was talking to him. The new name had been Macavity's idea. Having an alternate identity made it even less likely that Victoria would recognise him and it was easier if the other toms didn't know of his past.

He looked around; registering what had just happened and smiled weakly. Even he couldn't explain the way he was feeling at that moment. Fear? Relief? eventually he managed to gabble an explanation out.

'I'm fine, just shocked I guess. She really is beautiful.' he managed to croak. His mouth had gone completely dry with fear and his heart was racing. If she recognised him it could put them both in danger.

'You know what? I'm erm… going to find some better food… I'll be back later yeah?' Mistoffelees stumbled to his feet. He had seen Plato and Victoria begin to walk in their direction and he couldn't get away fast enough. He scurried to his feet and scampered out of the door, leaving a group of very confused toms behind him.

Mungojerrie glanced up as Plato reached his side, Victoria next to him.

'What rattled his cage?'

Plato shrugged. 'I have no idea.' It was only half a lie. He didn't know why Mistoffelees had left but he had noticed Victoria's expression and the way she watched him leave gave Plato an unpleasant feeling. It was almost as though he felt threatened. But Victoria had never met this new tom before. Quaxo had only been part of the gang for a week. But Plato and Mistoffelees weren't the only ones who saw Victoria's expression.

* * *

'What if it doesn't work?' Rumpleteazer was once again putting the world… or at least Macavity… to rights. 'Victoria loved Mistoffelees. You're not telling me that her love is just going to disappear with some mind tricks.' Rumpleteazer had been worrying about what she had seen in the hall all day. She knew what could happen to Mistoffelees if Victoria remembered.

'She's got Plato. He will keep her out of trouble, he'll look after her and he won't hurt her like…' Macavity couldn't finish his sentence. He just sighed. Nothing seemed to be making sense any more. He was doing what he thought was best for Victoria. He was protecting her from the pain that tuxedo cat had caused yet once again he felt like he'd done the wrong thing.

'You can't hide her from everything Macavity. You should know that more than anyone. She lives with criminals and she's going to realise that one day.' Rumpleteazer cupped her paws around the ginger tom's face, wiping away a stray tear.

'The day she finds out is the day I lose her.' Rumpleteazer shook her head.

'I'm not going to let that happen.'


	16. Distraction

'Vic! Come on! You've not been paying attention all afternoon! It's your turn.' Plato roughly pushed the cup holding the dice towards the day dreaming queen who woke up with a start.

'I'm sorry. I've just been thinking about those dreams again. I had another one you know. I was a kitten and I was with another tom and we were looking at prisms. It seemed so real…' Victoria's babbling trickled to a stop when she saw Plato roll his eyes and begin to put the game they were playing away. It was clear that he wasn't going to get any sense out of Victoria that afternoon.

'So how did you like meeting my friends? They're a bit rough around the edges but they're nice enough.'

Victoria thought for a moment before she spoke. 'It was good but I was just wondering who that tuxedo tom was? The one who walked away. You've never mentioned him before.'

Plato shrugged, grinning. 'Oh that's just Quaxo, he's new so he's still trying to fit in.' Noticing his friend's puzzled expression he paused. 'What's wrong?'

Victoria shook her head smirking to herself. 'Nothing. I just can't help thinking that Quaxo doesn't really suit him.'

Plato could only manage to half smile. His eyes remained concerned. Victoria was spending too much time thinking about her dreams and it was starting to worry him. It was as though they were becoming her life.

* * *

Mistoffelees was majorly bored. He had been sat for the past three hours on 'look out'. Basically there was nothing else for him to do but observe an empty field full of cow pats. He was beginning to drift off to sleep when a snippet of conversation caught his ear.

'Did you see her?'

After those words came a low chuckle, obviously it was toms who were meant to be patrolling. They clearly didn't understand what 'silently' meant. Mistoffelees was about to tell them to shut up when they spoke again.

'How could you miss her? Wow, she were really somethin'. Much too good for Plato.'

Mistoffelees scowled. The 'her' they were talking about was obviously Victoria and he wasn't sure he liked the way their conversation was going. His fingers began to tingle slightly at the next comment, a sure sign he was getting annoyed.

'But she can't be that good… if you know what I mean.' Mistoffelees could almost see the sneer on that tom's face. 'If she's Macavity's daughter.'

Peering around the corner of the doorframe as carefully as he could, Mistoffelees could see the shadows as the two toms approached.

'Well maybe when Plato's done with her we might get a chance to…'

Mistoffelees cursed as his sneeze echoed around the passage way and the two toms both turned to look in his direction. The larger of the two toms sauntered towards the doorframe, stepping through and turning to look Mistoffelees straight in the eye.

'Well who's this then?'

The other tom appeared behind him and after glancing over Mistoffelees he snorted.

'New tom I think. Quackers or something like that…'

'Quaxo.' Mistoffelees muttered with more venom than he had intended. He obviously hadn't muttered quietly enough because the larger tom's head jerked up.

'I do believe Quackers is annoyed with us.' His voice was almost gleeful and Mistoffelees could feel the fur on the back of his neck bristle. This was not the tom to be messing with. He couldn't help a grin forming across his face at his next thought. This tom was obviously tough but he had no idea how easily Mistoffelees could knock him senseless.

'Whatcha grinning at, Midget?'

Mistoffelees looked the galumphing tom straight in the eye.

'I doubt Victoria would ever be interested in you.'

It took a moment for the comment to sink in. Mistoffelees could almost see the cogs in the toms' brain turning as he registered that Mistoffelees had actually answered him.

'What makes you think I'd want anything to do with that _whore_?'

Mistoffelees had begun to leave but turned at the last word.

'What did you call her?' Mistoffelees could feel himself getting angry but he welcomed it. The power was beginning to surge hotly through his body and tickled the ends of his paws. His breathing was shallow and his fists were clenched.

'I called her a whore.' The huge tom replied, squaring up to Mistoffelees. 'A filthy, good for nothing WHORE and what are you going to do about it pipsqueak?' The tom had barely finished his sentence when in a blast of light he was thrown up off his feet and into the wall, breaking some of the bricks with the impact. Seeing his partner defeated, the second tom threw himself at Mistoffelees, punching and scratching in a frenzy.

'Oi! Get off him!' Mungojerrie appeared from the doorway and forced himself between the two fighting toms. Mistoffelees had blood dripping down his face and his breathing was laboured. He was fuming and there was nothing to take out his anger on but the space in front of him. With a scream he let the power go, feeling it surging out of him with relief. Mungojerrie just stood and stared, his mouth hanging open. It was only then that he realised the tom that had been beating up Mistoffelees was gone.

'Damn!' He yelled, desperately trying to find which direction he'd gone in. 'He's gone to get Macavity.'

Mistoffelees felt he ought to be scared but as one of the captains arrived, he got to he knees and let himself be taken without protest. With a quick glance to where the first tom was lying, Mistoffelees realised he hadn't moved an inch.

When Macavity arrived, Mistoffelees only had chance to see him shake his head before he felt something hit him on the back of his head and he blacked out.


	17. Consider

**Urgh.. life is busy again. But my exams are finished (for now) so I'll possibly have a bit more time to spend updating. Thank you for being so patient x**

* * *

When he woke up he was in a very dark, damp and cold room. Rubbing his head, Mistoffelees sat up, staring round into the darkness. He tensed as the chink of a key turning pounded through his overly sensitive head. He turned, expecting to see Macavity entering.

'Rumpleteazer?' He stood up suddenly, wobbling unsteadily before falling onto all fours. He smiled as he felt Rumpleteazer help him back onto the bench he had been sitting on.

'Thank you.' His smile vanished as he saw the queen's expression.

'Why, Mistoffelees? What terrible thing did he do that made you almost kill him?'

The tuxedo tom could barely look her in the eye.

'It was something about Victoria wasn't it? Mistoffelees! You've got to learn to control yourself! That cat is lucky to be alive after what you did.'

'How can I? I….'

'You need to FORGET about her Misto. You've already told Macavity you don't care about her anymore and at the moment you're doing a pretty bad job of showing that.'

Rumpleteazer sighed, sitting gingerly down on the bench next to the weak tuxedo tom. 'She recognised you. I don't know how it happened but a part of her told her that she had seen you before. '

Mistoffelees looked at the tabby queen helplessly. 'She told you that?' Rumpleteazer nodded.

'She needs to know what you did Mistoffelees. The memories come back to her in dreams every night. As soon as she starts telling people about the dreams you are put back into danger.'

The tuxedo tom remained silent as Rumpleteazer stood up to leave.

'I'm going to go and talk to her. Macavity will be coming later so you'd better prepare yourself. Don't get yourself into more trouble than you can help.' She smiled sadly before going out and locking the door behind her.

* * *

On her way to Victoria's room, Rumpleteazer leapt of her skin as she felt someone grab her arm. She turned expecting it to be Macavity.

'Jerrie?' She stared wonderingly at her brother. 'What do you want? I'm busy.'

She studied her brother's expression more closely. Something was bothering him.

'Jerrie, what's wrong?'

'We need to talk.' The tabby's voice was commanding and quiet.

Rumpleteazer sighed, prizing her arm free of her brother's grasp.

'Later, I've got a few things I need to do.' She smiled weakly as she walked away.

'Do they involve Macavity?' Mungojerrie shouted after her, making Rumpleteazer turn around.

'Why does it matter if they involve Macavity?' She walked back towards her brother. 'Jerrie, what's up with you?'

Mungojerrie just ran his fingers through his head fur uncomfortably, taking his sister by her shoulders.

'I just care about you. A lot. I don't want to see you get hurt.' His expression was so passionate it made Rumpleteazer gulp. Exhaling deeply, he dropped his hands so they were by his side. 'We'll talk later.' He grinned cheerily but his eyes weren't smiling. Rumpleteazer made as if to speak but her brother was gone before she had chance to.

She was about to continue on her way to see Victoria when she heard another movement in the shadows.

'I don't think your brother likes me.' Rumpleteazer couldn't help the smile that spread across her face at Macavity's voice.

'You heard everything?' She sauntered towards him, her paws twisted behind her back like a guilty child.

'Yes, and I was just wondering…' He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close so fast she forgot to breathe. 'If I was involved in your plans for today.'

Rumpleteazer giggled childishly, wrapping her arms around his neck and winding her paws through his head fur.

'I'll have to see if I can pencil you in.' She kissed him playfully before forcing herself free of his grasp. 'But for now, I think we both have things we need to do.' She couldn't look him in the eye as is occurred to them both where Macavity was going.

'I've got to do it 'Teaze. Discipline is vital for keeping order.'

She rested her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around his back. He returned the embrace, kissing the top of her head tenderly.

'I understand Mac. I just wish Mist… Quaxo wouldn't get himself into so much trouble.' She felt Macavity's body tense at the mention of Mistoffelees.

'Don't hate him because of what Melanic did.'

Macavity tilted her chin up so she was looking directly at him.

'I don't hate him because of what his Father did. I hate him because of what he did. To Victoria.'

Rumpleteazer took his paw in her own, cradling it against her cheek.

'He's fixed that now. And maybe the way you feel about Victoria is the same way Jerrie feels about me. He doesn't want me to get hurt.' She stroked his chest fur gently. 'Make sure you're thinking clearly before you go near him. Don't let your emotions blind you.'

Macavity just grunted in reply and Rumpleteazer smiled, pecking him softly.

'Be fair.'

Then, breaking free, she finally got back on her journey to see Victoria.

She knocked on the door before she entered out of politeness. She of all people knew that Victoria never minded if someone came in her room. She entered to find Victoria doing what she did best. Not a lot.

'So how did you enjoy your time with the henchcats?' She smiled cheerily before plonking herself next to the relaxing queen.

'It was great. They're all really nice. You're brother's so funny!' The lack of real emotion in Victoria's voice told Rumpleteazer that her mind was elsewhere.

'I suppose Plato's told you about what's happened to Quaxo.'

The snowy queen nodded. 'But he's only small isn't he? How in Heaviside did he manage to fight off that tom?'

Rumpleteazer shrugged. At least the toms involved had had the sense to keep quiet about what they'd seen. The two queens sat in silence for a while before Rumpleteazer finally worked up the courage to ask what she really wanted to ask.

'He's been on your mind hasn't he?'

Victoria looked at her friend, confused. 'Who do you mean?'

'You know exactly who I mean, Victoria.'

The white queen shuffled nervously. 'Don't tell Plato. He'll be heartbroken. I just can't seem to stop thinking about him and I've never even spoken to him.'

'You think he's the tom from your dreams?'

Victoria shrugged. 'They seem so real and he looks just like him.'

Rumpleteazer sighed. 'Go and talk to him.' She carefully slipped Victoria the keys.

'And I want you to just consider something.' She rolled her eyes, attempting to find the words to express what she wanted to say. 'Sometimes there are more to things than there seems to be.'


	18. Alone

Mistoffelees' eyes half opened at the sound of the key being turned in the lock again. They shot open properly when he realised it wasn't Macavity coming through the door. He sat up so fast it made his head spin.

'Victoria? Why are you here? How? Why?' Mistoffelees struggled to get his words out. This was way worse than Macavity.

'Rumpleteazer said I should speak to you.'

Mistoffelees sat down indifferently. Clearly she wasn't going to leave.

'So speak. The sooner we've spoken, the sooner you can leave.'

A hurt expression crossed her face and Mistoffelees felt his insides twist. He hated hurting her but it was the easiest way to keep her safe. If she hated him, she wasn't likely to want to be near him.

'Plato told me what you did. How you fought those massive toms for saying horrible things about me.'

Her voice was quiet, awkward.

'I was just doing my duty.'

He watched her closely as she walked towards him, hesitantly at first.

'It looks as though you did more than your duty to end up in here.' She gestured to the room they were stood in.

'And why would you want to defend me? I'm just the boss's daughter.' She was getting more confident, and before he knew it, she was directly in front of him.

'I am a loyal worker.'

She was too close to him. He could almost feel her eyes studying him.

Their eyes met and once again Mistoffelees found himself getting lost. He blinked a few times trying to focus his thoughts.

'Your name's not Quaxo is it?'

He leapt to his feet with such force Victoria had to step back. 'Get out.'

'So it's not?' She edged towards him.

'You need to leave.' He grabbed both her wrists in an attempt to force her away.

'Mistoffelees, tell me!' He let go of her like she was on fire. For what seemed like an age the two cats just stared at each other. Finally Mistoffelees managed to stutter a reply out.

'What did you call me?'

'M… Mistoffelees.'

'Why?' He was growing more panicked by the second.

'I don't know, I must have remembered from my dream or something.' The pearly queen was growing frightened herself.

'Don't ever call me that again. Understand?'

'But it's your name.'

Suddenly Mistoffelees' ears pricked up. He could sense Macavity and his hench cats coming closer.

'You need to leave'

'But I have so many questions.'

'I can't answer them, so get out.' He attempted to push her out of the door but as he began to hear Macavity getting near he gave up. Taking her by the wrists, he forced her under the bench he had been sat on.

'Now listen to me. You stay here and you stay silent. One noise from you could get us both killed. Understand?' Victoria nodded. Her eyes met with his for a second and Victoria noticed that although his voice was hard, his eyes were not.

He got to his feet just in time to see the three large toms walking towards the door to his cell. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to concentrate. Victoria's hiding place needed a little assistance for it to work.

As each of the three toms entered, Mistoffelees made sure he looked each one of them in the eye. As soon as the trio were inside the room Macavity signalled to the cats on either side of him. In the blink of an eye Mistoffelees felt himself forced to his knees, his arms pulled behind his back and secured tightly.

Macavity nodded, satisfied, one claw resting on his chin thoughtfully; as though he was deciding what to do with the tom in front of him.

'We didn't want you playing any tricks on us.'

Mistoffelees wriggled uncomfortably. He could feel the rope binding his arms beginning to cut through his skin.

'What makes you think that this would prevent me from doing anything?'

'Oh I have no doubt that you would try and probably succeed in hurting one of us but I just thought that if you were tied up, you would have to escape first and we had more chance of killing you before you could do too much damage.'

Mistoffelees looked the ginger tom straight in the eye.

'I swore on my Father's grave that I will be loyal to you and I will not go back on my word.'

'Actions speak louder than words, Mistoffelees.' He nodded slightly to one of the toms to Mistoffelees' right. Mistoffelees heard the smack as the tom's fist made contact with his head and the crack as his head made contact with the floor. He didn't feel the rest of the punches, his mind was elsewhere.

'And your actions lately aren't telling me you're loyal. They're telling me you're a trouble maker.'

Mistoffelees could feel blood beginning to drip down his face from the cut on his forehead.

'I defended your daughter. Those tom's were being disrespectful.'

In one swift movement, Macavity turned and slapped Mistoffelees across the face with the back of his paw. Kneeling down so his face was level with the tuxedo toms', he snarled.

'You are loyal to ME, Mistoffelees. Not Victoria.' Almost delicately he placed a single claw on Mistoffelees' arm.

'You are on your final chance.' He paused. His eyes stared straight into Mistoffelees' own. Mistoffelees ground his teeth as he felt Macavity put force on the claw, breaking the skin and digging deep into his arm. For a second Macavity's eyes blazed red.

'One more mistake and you'll be joining your father.'

Then, never flinching, he dragged his claw down Mistoffelees' arm. Mistoffelees gasped, the pain was like nothing he had ever felt before. As he felt the rope around his arms being cut he realised they were leaving. He watched them go and as soon as he could no longer hear the trio he turned and extended his uninjured paw to a very shell shocked Victoria.

She took his paw gingerly.

'Are you alright?'

Mistoffelees hesitantly touched the gash on his head and then studied his arm.

'I've suffered worse.' He sat down on the bench, exhausted.

'Now if you don't mind, I think it's time for you to leave.' With what strength he had left, he gestured towards the door. Victoria nodded, walking as if she was in a dream towards the door. She turned before she went through the door and her eyes strayed to where she had been hidden. Although it was dark, the space where she had been curled up was clearly visible. Mistoffelees noticed her staring.

'But how did they not…'

'Sometimes it's better to not question how things happen.' Mistoffelees snapped in answer to her question. Seeing her worried expression, his voice softened. 'Get some rest, you'll feel better after you've slept.'

She nodded again, clearly not taking anything in. 'Goodbye Quaxo.' She looked unsure as she used his fake name.

'Goodbye Vic.' For a second it seemed as though Victoria was remembering something. Then the moment passed and she was gone. Mistoffelees was alone again.


	19. Lost

'Jerrie. what's up with you lately?' Rumpleteazer had just returned from her chat with Victoria and had entered their den to find her brother sat uncomfortably, a worried expression plastered across his face.

'What's your problem with Macavity? You've never had a problem before!' The puzzled queen fired unanswered questions at the silent tom, her frustration growing.

'Have you ever wondered why Macavity keeps Victoria under lock and key?' Mungojerrie's voice was calm and cool, his eyes challenging his sister to answer. Rumpleteazer just shrugged.

'To protect her. Everyone knows that.'

'Protect her from what?' The tiger striped tom got to his feet, watching his sister closely.

'Protect her from harm, she's in the middle of a criminal organisation. There are dangerous toms around.'

'What about protecting her from outside forces?' Mungojerrie raised his eyebrows questioningly.

'Well obviously that as well. Where's all this going Jer'?'

'WHY DOES SHE NEED PROTECTING?' Mungojerrie spun round, his eyes blazing. His breathing was shallow and laboured. 'I'll tell you why. Because she is a target. Macavity is one of the most famous and powerful cats of all time. If word got out that Victoria was his daughter, there would be kidnap, blackmail and everlasting cat knows what else being planned.' He gripped his sister's shoulders tightly.

'Every second you spend near Macavity, every word spoken that implies you mean anything to him puts you in danger. It makes you a target. Every cat has his weak spot, something he will buckle for. I don't want you to be Macavity's.'

Rumpleteazer pulled herself free of her brother's grasp.

'Macavity is strong. He and I both know that the gang comes first.'

'This isn't about Macavity. This is about protecting you. It's becoming more and more noticeable that you and Macavity aren't spending time together for business. I doubt you've slept in your own bed one night this week! It's common gossip that you're together and as soon as it reaches the streets, you know who would find out.'

'The Jellicles aren't going to kidnap me, Jerrie.' The twang in the young queens voice failed to hide her growing irritation.

'You have no idea what they're capable of.' The calmness in Mungojerrie's voice made Rumpleteazer snap.

'AND YOU DO?' She marched venomously towards her brother.

'You know nothing Jer. Not about me, not about Macavity, not about the Jellicles. So please stop trying to pretend you do. I can protect myself. I don't need my big brother looking out for me all the time. I'm not a kitten any more.'

She was about to storm out but she felt her brother grip her paw.

'If I don't look out for you, who will? You said yourself, Macavity will always put the gang first.'

Rumpleteazer tore her paw free.

'Well it won't be dear old dad will it? He'll be too busy trying to KIDNAP ME!'

And with that, the small tabby queen rushed out of the den, slamming the door behind her.

'You should cut your brother some slack. He's only worried about you.' Macavity's voice made Rumpleteazer look up after she stormed out of the collection of rooms they shared.

'You really shouldn't listen at doorways. It's very rude.' Her voice was dripping with sarcasm and her annoyance was plainly visible on her face.

'If it's any consolation for you, the walls are thick. I only heard a bit.' Macavity kept his distance, allowing the fuming queen to cool off.

'How much?'

'Not as much as you think.' Macavity took Rumpleteazer's paws in his own.

'Your brother is right you know. You are a target.'

'But I don't need him to remind me. I've been through just the same as he has. I'm not a helpless, innocent little kitten anymore.'

'I know but I can't help worrying that I am putting you in a lot of danger. Maybe it'd be better if we –OWCH!'

Macavity's sentence was cut short as Rumpleteazer slapped him hard across his face.

'Don't you DARE even think about saying we should split up. I'm staying with you through thick and thin whether you like it or not.' Her eyes blazed fiercely with a passion that seemed to come right from deep within her soul. She leaned against the wall, raising her eyebrows questioningly after her outburst.

'What are you smirking at?'

It took Macavity a moment to realise a crooked smile had spread across his face.

'I'm just thinking that since you're going to stick with me whether I like it or not, I might as well like it.' With one paw he cradled her face, the other curled around her back before slipping below her waist. He kissed her neck gently, lifting his head so their lips met.

'Let's put some of that passion to good use eh?' he winked playfully, pulling away and taking the queen's paw.

'Innocent's definitely not a word I would use to describe you.'

* * *

Victoria had just reached the door to her room. After countless wrong turns and dead ends she had finally found the familiar corridor. It was only then that she realised that she had no key. Rumpleteazer had given her the keys for her to get down to the cells but had forgotten to give her the keys to get back in her own room.

In a wave of despair, Victoria sank to her knees. The shock of what she had witnessed sank in and she began to weep wretchedly. As footsteps echoed around the hall she gulped back her tears, preparing to greet whoever came round the corner as best she could.

'Victoria?' Plato hurried anxiously to her side. 'What are you doing out here? It's dangerous, you could…' It was then that he saw her tearstained face. He sighed, slipping one paw under her knees and the other around her back so he could lift her.

'Let's get you inside.'

Once he was through, he closed the door behind him, placing the unhappy queen softly on her bed and sitting beside her. He wrapped his arm around her, silently letting her cry onto his shoulder.

After several minutes Plato tilted Victoria's chin upwards so he could see her tearstained face.

'Are you going to tell me why you were locked out of your own room?'

The snowy queen gulped.

'The door was open and I just went outside to find someone who could lock it but when I came back it was locked again so I couldn't get in.'

Plato nodded, not believing a word of it.


	20. History

**First of all I have some major apologising to do.. I'm so sorry this chapter has taken ages to get out. I actually had it written ages ago but things kept happening. I was ill and then I had some big exams to revise for and then when I tried to upload this chapter recently, fanfiction wouldn't let me log on. So yeah.. things haven't been too good but here's the chapter anyway... Not as long as I'd like but oh well.**

**Secondly, future chapters might take a while to get up as well. I've got my GCSEs in five weeks so I'm afraid revision will have to take priority for a while.**

**Enough of my waffle, here's the next chapter.**

**Kailiata x**

* * *

Hesitantly Mungojerrie knocked on the door of his boss' office. A grunt of 'come in' and the tiger-striped tom pushed open the door. Macavity smiled at his entrance, gesturing to a seat.

'Sit down 'Jerrie'

'Listen, Sir, If it's about 'Teazer. I didn't mean any offence sir, I just don't want…'

Macavity held up his paw for silence.

'Relax, 'Jerrie. I'm not about to punish you for caring about your sister. Although I do want to talk to you about that argument. I couldn't help but overhearing you mention the Jellicles.'

'Jerrie regarded the ginger tom suspiciously.

'You want to know what my connection with them is?'

Macavity nodded. 'Exactly.'

* * *

Victoria woke for about the fifth time that night. It wasn't that the dreams were scaring her awake. They were just so real it was exhausting. She didn't feel as if she was merely dreaming the experiences. She felt as though she was actually reliving them. She'd wake up feeling as though she hadn't slept at all and had just run a marathon. In a way the dreams were beginning to scare her. The Victoria she saw in her dreams was much closer to her own age and there was no mistaking that the tom was Mistoffelees.

She had not spoken to Mistoffelees since the time in the cell. He had been released several days ago, emerging with little more than a large scar stretching down his arm. She still hadn't found the courage to tell Plato where she had been the day he found her locked outside her bedroom and it was starting to create a rift between them. Plato had evidently told her father about what had happened because she was no longer allowed to leave her bedroom at all.

Plato no longer completely trusted her and she was angry at him for limiting her freedom again. Overall, Victoria was dreading the day ahead of her.

Giving up on getting any sleep, the snowy queen began to wander round her room aimlessly. She counted the number of steps it took for her to walk from one side of the room to the other: 23.

After counting various other things in the room she resorted to practising her dancing.

Victoria had at last found a use for her terrible dancing and balance. She used the dancing as a distraction, focusing so hard on getting each and every movement exactly as it was meant to be and usually tiring herself out in the process so she could sleep.

Trying one last time to get her move right, Victoria froze. Her fur began to prickle all over. She suddenly felt as though she was being watched. Her eyes scanned the room but as she expected there was no-one there. The room was empty and she was as alone as she always was. Still watching carefully she absentmindedly picked up the nearest book to hand and began to flick though it.

The words and pictures flew before her eyes until one page caught her eye. On it were pictures of two large statues. Underneath the caption read: 'Venus, goddess of love (Right) and Mars, god of war (left)'. Then suddenly something in her mind clicked. She remembered the dream where she had been looking at this book with Mistoffelees and then…

Glancing down, she stared at the black scars that had remained on her fur. All doubt had gone from her mind. The dreams were not dreams but memories and unless she was mistaken, the memories all had one thing in common. They all involved the small tuxedo tom they called Quaxo.

* * *

'I don't know why you're bothered, Macavity. It's just history. It's all in the past and to be honest I don't like to talk about it.'

She had used his full name, Macavity knew she must be annoyed but still he pressed her.

'I don't think you realise how many of the toms who work for me are connected with the Jellicles one way or another. Take Plato, he's…'

'That red queen's brother. Balurina or whatever she's called. I know.' Rumpleteazer scowled, folding her paws crossly.

'Why do you even need to bother asking? I know 'Jerrie's told you everything already.'

'He only answered my questions, nothing more. I don't know the whole story.'

The small queen sat down unhappily, tucking her knees under her chin.

'Fine. Our mother was a rat catcher in the railway stations. She met Dad one day when he was wandering about the station and they got talking, stuff happened and a while later 'Jerrie was born. My Mother loved him and every week Dad would appear and spend time with them. Soon my mum was pregnant again and not long after that he stopped coming to see her. I was born but the birth weakened my mother and she never fully recovered. By the time I was seven she was dead and we were left on our own. It was only natural that we would go looking for our Father and we found him pretty quickly. He got the shock of his life when we turned up at the door of his den.'

Rumpleteazer couldn't help smirking as she remembered.

'Turns out dear old Dad already had a mate. We were illegitimate, second class and disgusting in the eyes of those pure, elitist freaks. Dad was given the choice when the Jellicles found out. Abandon my mother and her children or face being exiled from the tribe. He chose the tribe and a mate he didn't love who had been decided for him at birth over my Mother who loved him so much it nearly killed her when he never came back.

We were thrown out and told not to come back so we made our own way in the world. The rest you can probably work out.'

Macavity took her paws in his own.

'You'd be surprised how many of the gang have had similar experiences. The Jellicles aren't as pure and good as they pretend to be and most who've been treated as you have react in the same way: By coming to me in the hope that I will help them to get revenge. Incidentally, am I right in thinking your Father is…'

'Skimbleshanks.' Rumpleteazer cut in, 'Yes.'


	21. Hatred

**Hello! I know, long time no see xD I am so so so so so so sooooooooooooo sorry for not updating. I know, it's really mean of me but I hope this chapter will make up for it. It seems taking a break for my exams was worth it though. I am so pleased with my results :D I promise I will be able to update faster now. I already have several future chapters ready, it's just a matter of filling in the spaces. Anyways! Enjoy!**

* * *

'Really, Macavity, the warehouse isn't going to fall apart without you. Just go!' Rumpleteazer gave the hesitating tom a playful shove.

'Ok, I'll back by tomorrow morning. I-'

Rumpleteazer continued to push him towards the exit of the warehouse.

'Don't hurry back. Just enjoy destroying that stupid Jellicle ball of theirs.'

Macavity looked back over his shoulder. 'Anyone would think you were planning something.'

The tabby queen shrugged. 'Of course I am. If you can't enjoy yourself when the boss is away, when can you?'

Macavity nodded. 'Just don't do anything I wouldn't do.' And with a final push, he was out of the door.

Rumpleteazer closed the door behind him and smiled. In breaking just about every unspoken rule she could think of, the plan she had thought of was exactly what Macavity would do.

Smiling, she turned to the new tom who was staring at her with an awestruck expression.

'Find Quaxo and give him these. Tell him that at least for today Victoria is allowed freedom.'

The clueless tom nodded and trotted away like a loyal puppy. The tiger striped tabby watched him leave with a peculiar feeling in her stomach she couldn't put her finger on. It was as though, although she knew she was doing the right thing, she felt as though she was sending Quaxo and Victoria down a road she didn't actually want them to take.

* * *

Mistoffelees looked at the long rusted keys in his paw. For not the first time in his life, he questioned the very reason he was even involved with cats of this kind. His mother was a Jellicle, surely it would have been safer to hide with them? He could not deny that the thought had crossed his mind. And so, inhaling deeply, he turned the key in the lock.

As expected, Victoria was up and seemed to be waiting for him. He took a couple of steps into the room, announced that she was allowed freedom for today and turned to leave as quickly as he could manage.

'Wait.' Victoria's voice was still heavy with sleep but her tone was urgent enough to make Mistoffelees stop for a moment and prick his ears.

'Talk to me.' It was a demand. Mistoffelees turned on his heels and walked two steps into the room. Raising his eyebrows slightly, he watched her. She shuffled uncomfortably under his gaze but seemed to finally muster the courage to look in his eyes and she finished her request.

'Please?'

Mistoffelees forced himself to remain icy.

'I don't think your father-'

'My father isn't here, Mistoffelees.' She gasped as though she wished she could swallow what she had just said.

'I'm sorry, you told me never to call you that but it just slipped out.'

Mistoffelees recovered himself and slowly edged towards the centre of the room.

'Fine, I'll talk.'

Victoria walked towards him so that she was standing barely a few inches away from him. He stood barely a head taller than her but it was enough to force her to lift her head to look him in the eye. Mistoffelees tried to keep his expression blank but he couldn't stop his heart from beating just a little bit faster. Victoria on the other hand, had an almost mischievous expression playing about her face. One eyebrow arched questioningly.

'We were friends?'

'Barely.'

'Best friends?' She leaned towards the poker faced tom, causing him to take a step backwards. She followed suit, for each question and answer she took a step towards him and he took a step back.

'Unlikely.'

'More than best friends?'

'Improbable.'

'Lovers?'

'Impossib-' Mistoffelees felt his paw hit the wall as he realised he'd fallen straight into her trap.

'This isn't talking, it's more like interrogation.' For the first time since entering the room, Mistoffelees let a smirk appear on his lips.

'Well I have questions, you have answers.'

'And what makes you think I'll give them to you?'

'Well I know for some reason you don't want me to call you Mistoffelees so I'll hazard a guess that you wouldn't be too happy with me announcing your real name to my father?'

'Blackmail? I'm impressed.'

'So talk.'

Swallowing awkwardly, Mistoffelees pushed the snowy queen gently to one side. Taking this as the answer that she wanted, Victoria bounded across the room sat herself cross legged on her bed and patted the space in front of her. Running his paw through the back of his head fur uncomfortably, Mistoffelees sat down where she had gestured.

As he expected, she leapt but he was quicker. Twisting at the last moment, he caught her wrists and rolled over so that he had her pinned down.

'I'm not here to play games, kit. I'm here to talk.' He couldn't help feeling strange as he spoke. The words didn't seem to be his own. It felt wrong to call her a kit but in so many ways she was younger than him, more inexperienced in life itself. He looked her in the eye and saw the surprise in her face slowly dissolve.

'You knew what I was going to do.'

'I had my suspicions.' Shifting his weight onto his legs, Mistoffelees sat up and released the captured queen. He pulled himself to the end of the bed so he was only perched on the edge. As he felt her crawl up behind him, he scowled.

'What are you doing?'

'Testing' He could feel her breath ticking his neck but he forced himself to look straight ahead as he felt her paw snake around his chest.

'Testing what?' he turned too quickly to realise his mistake. As Victoria pressed her lips to his, he cursed his heart for beating so fast. As he knew she would do, Victoria pulled away from the kiss and placed a single paw on his chest. He watched as a grin spread across her face.

'Definitely more than friends I think?'

'But you already knew that.' Mistoffelees began to relax as he realised that Victoria had planned this meeting for a long time.

'I did. But what I want to know it why my memories are coming back to me in dreams, how I forgot them in the first place and why it was you I had to forget.'

'You really want to know? Even if it hurts?'

For a moment, Victoria's eyes lost their sparkle.

'Please, my heart tells me you are not someone I should have forgotten.'

She sat herself down beside him. Mistoffelees looked at her sadly. Then without warning, he tilted her chin upwards and kissed her.

Victoria blinked for a couple of seconds after he had pulled away.

'What was that for?'

'Because when you find out the truth, you're going to hate me.'


	22. Owch

She punched him.

Mistoffelees shook his head as he felt blood begin to dribble from his nose.

'Wow...'

'What kind of tom wipes the memory of the queen he's in love with?'

'I told you you'd hate me.'

Her voice softened at his sadness. 'But why?'

'To protect you. I'd hurt you enough already. It would be better for you if you'd completely forgotten me and got on with your life and I could get on with mine. Unfortunately I don't seem to be as good at wiping memories as I thought.'

'Or maybe you didn't wipe my memory completely because you didn't want me to completely forget you?'

Mistoffelees shook his head, 'Believe me, I tried my hardest.'

The worry in his voice made Victoria study him.

'Is it really that dangerous for me to know who you are?'

Mistoffelees nodded. 'I guess you've just sealed my death sentence, eh?' He was smiling but it didn't reach his eyes.

Victoria studied her paws intently. 'I won't tell.' She finally mustered up the courage to look him in the eyes. 'Because I don't want to lose you again.'

Mistoffelees watched her closely, clearing his throat.

'If we're done talking, I really need to go.'

He stood up, ignoring Victoria's complaints as he hurried towards the door.

'Misto, wait.' He felt her grab his arm and turned to face her.

'Don't go. I don't know when I'll be able to see you again.'

Mistoffelees smirked. 'I've broken into this room enough times already. What makes you think I won't be able to do it again?'

'Oh I know you've got the means and the opportunity but do you have a motive?'

Mistoffelees found himself chuckling at what he was about to say. Maybe being around Macavity had effected him. Slipping one paw around Victoria's back he pulled her towards him.

'Why don't you give me one?'

With one quick glance in his eyes to check he was serious, Victoria leaned in and gave him a single, tantalising kiss.

She opened her eyes to find him looking at her intently.

* * *

'Well that's a motive if ever I saw one.' He looked contemplative for a moment but then a smile broke out across his face. 'Now I really need to go.'

As he expected, Rumpleteazer met him outside. He met her eyes with the same expression she was wearing.

'Was there really any need for that? I was doing just fine keeping my distance.'

'It would have happened eventually. I'm just trying to speed up the process.'

Although her words could have been seen as a joke no laughter reached their lips.

'You shouldn't have tempted me. There's too much at stake.'

Rumpleteazer smiled sadly. 'Don't tell me you wouldn't have given into the temptation at some point?'

Mistoffelees nodded as they walked together. 'Probably, but then it would have been my problem and only mine. I don't want to drag everyone into this mess.'

Rumpleteazer took his shoulders and turned him to face her.

'I will do everything within my power to bring you and Victoria together.'

At this Mistoffelees stopped dead, staring sternly ahead.

'Do you love him? Macavity I mean.'

Rumpleteazer drew level with him, watching him carefully.

'Yes, but I'm not sure if that is really releva-'

'Then for the sake of your relationship, leave mine alone.'

'I was only trying to help, no need to go on the defensive.'

Mistoffelees sighed. 'I have something to defend and I _will_ defend it with all I have. But it will be me and no one else. So STAY OUT OF MY BUSINESS!'

As he finished shouting something came over Mistoffelees and he looked horrified.

'I'm sorry, 'Teazer. I don't know what came over me. I appreciate all you've done for me already. I just... I don't know what happened.' He smiled weakly and walked away swiftly. In his mind the cogs were whirring. Something abnormal had happened to him when she had shouted at Rumpleteazer. He had felt as though another being had been controlling him, as if he had lost all power over his actions. There had also been a weird burning sensation that had begun from deep within him.

But it was gone now. Everything was fine again. He could see Victoria, she remembered him and even if it put his life in danger, Mistoffelees was glad she could.

As he was walking back to the main hall for his lunch, he met Plato looking slightly too pleased with himself for Mistoffelees' liking.

'Where are you off to, looking so smug?'

Mistoffelees couldn't stop a hint of venom from seeping into his voice as he glared at the tall tom. He knew already that there was only one place that Plato could be going and it displeased him greatly.

'I'm going go see Vic, why?'

Mistoffelees exhaled deeply as his fists began to clench.

'No reason.'

But as Plato walked away, Mistoffelees felt the same burning feeling he had felt earlier but this time he realised what was causing it. He had thought he was stronger than that. He had promised his father that he wouldn't let his dark side emerge and yet when he had spoken to Plato there had been a voice in the back of his head telling him to hurt him.

Reaching his room he flopped down on his bed questions whirring around in his head.

Was it really a good idea to come to a place where he had every opportunity to let his Mau side take over. He was in a criminal gang, there was no better breeding ground for his powers and now he had no father to guide him through and help him.

There were so many people he could hurt and as he thought, the sparks still darting on his fingertips, Mistoffelees wished that for once something in his life would be straightforward.

* * *

**It's been so long since I updated, you've probably given up on me ever finishing it. To be honest I've been so busy with college and things that I just completely forgot about my cats fanfictions. I somehow managed to get sucked into the Harry Potter fandom so I've been writing a lot of this fanfictions. I will try to keep updating this. If it's been a while just post some reviews telling me to get a wriggle on and I will.  
Thank you to everyone who has been so patient.**


	23. Dangerous

Victoria giggled.  
'You're getting too confident Misto. What if someone sees us?'

Once again the two cats were together. Victoria, with her back against the wall, was staring intently at the black and white tom who had trapped her. He was leaning on the wall his paws on either side of her, his head only inches away from her own.

'No-one is going to see, you know I'm always careful.'

Leaning in, he gently let his lips brush hers then frowned as weakly, Victoria pushed him away.

'Come on Vic. We'll be fine!'

Seeing that the worried expression still hadn't left her eyes, Mistoffelees tipped the young queen's chin upwards and looked deep into her eyes. He chuckled as her face scrunched into a scowl.

'No fair, you promised no more hypnotising.'

Slowly, the tuxedo tom leaned in, whispering into the white queens ear.

'But is it working?'

Victoria smiled coquettishly, purring as his hot breath tickled her skin. Mistoffelees returned the smile as he felt her paws wind across his shoulders and around his neck, her claws entwining in his head fur. He slipped his own paws comfortably around her waist, feeling rather than hearing her reply as their lips touched.

'Maybe'

* * *

'What if next time I'm not the one who finds you?'

Mistoffelees released Victoria quicker than was normal for even the most scared of cats and turned to face Rumpleteazer, his cheeks blushing a deep shade of pink that matched Victoria's.

'What if it's Plato, or Macavity, Or Jerrie? Imagine what would happen if they found out. I can't keep covering for you. Luck won't always be on your side. If they find you, that's the end of it. He'll kill you, Mistoffelees. Is it really worth being so careless?'

Mistoffelees looked from Rumpltezer to Victoria and sighing, he handed the tiger-striped queen the key to Victoria's room.

'You're right, it's not worth it.'

In a few seconds Victoria was ushered back to her room without a word and Rumpleteazer was back with Mistoffelees.

'That was too easy. What are you planning?'

Mistoffelees shrugged. 'I have to have some sort of plan don't I? We both know that this can't go on forever.'

'Are you going to tell me what it is?'

'Maybe, maybe not. I've not even told Vic yet. She'd probably refuse anyway.'

Rumpleteazer was still suspicious as she allowed the tuxedo tom to continue down the corridor alone. Something wasn't quite right.

* * *

The tingling had begun again. When Rumpleteazer had appeared, a surge of annoyance had sped through Mistoffelees and since then, the sparking feeling in his fingers had only grown stronger. It was controllable but he needed to get outside and let off some steam. He'd been more irritable lately. He and Victoria were closer than ever and for once things seemed to be going well. SO why was he so jumpy and angry at every little thing?

He was torn out of his thoughts by the towering presence of another, equally annoyed tom.

'What do you want, Plato?' Mistoffelees glared at the tall tom.

'You know exactly what I want, Quaxo. I want you to stop messing around with Victoria.'

Mistoffelees felt something inside himself prickle and snap at his comment. He was excited, thrilled at the thought of a proper, evenly matched fight. As he turned to look at Plato challengingly, he grinned because he knew that the fight in fact would probably turn out not be very evenly matched at all.

'Who says I'm messing with her?'

He didn't want to fight, he had to keep a low profile or he'd put them both in danger.

'Well you can't be serious about her. After all, you've already left her twice and you even wiped her memory. What kind of tom does that to the queen he loves?'

The fur on the back of Mistoffelees' neck was bristling. The voice in the back of his head was speaking again. It would be so easy to kill Plato. Wipe that smug, pathetic expression right off his face permanently. He should do it, it would solve so many problems.

'Don't anger me, Plato. You have no idea what I'm capable of'

The truth was, Mistoffelees had no idea either and it scared him senseless. There was a burning in his eyes and the voice was muttering constantly.

Plato scoffed 'what you're capable of. Everlasting Cat, Quaxo, you could barely take on a kitten with your size. Why would Victoria ever be interested in you? After all, when she was lonely, it was me who comforted her. And wow, can I comfort well, if you know what I mean? The Rum Tum Tugger is nothing on me.'

Plato was in danger now and Mistoffelees knew it. He felt as though his blood was boiling through his veins and burning him from the inside out. It was as though something else had got hold of him and it had control. He wanted to kill Plato. No, he wanted to rip him limb from limb and laugh as he screamed in pain. There were images in his head that terrified Mistoffelees but they wouldn't leave and there was a part of him that enjoyed them.

The fight had been going on inside the tuxedo tom's head and the lack of response to Plato's taunts provoked the towering tom.

'Fight me for her, or do you really not care at all?'

In the second before Mistoffelees pounced, Plato met his eyes and he realized in that fleeting moment that he had made a terrible, terrible mistake.


	24. Chaos

Mistoffelees was shaking so violently he could do nothing but crouch on the floor. He felt like every inch of his body was on fire. He could feel the blood surging through his veins, it felt as though it was bubbling with poison, ready to kill any goodness left inside of him.

'Misto? What's wrong?'

Mistoffelees kicked himself as he realised he had miscounted. He was one window short of his destination. He was not in the corridor as he had planned, but in the room of the one person he was desperate to protect.

'Misto, you're shaking.' As he heard her crouch down in front of him, he realised he had his eyes, closed shut so tight it was as though they were being forced back into his head.

'Open your eyes, darling, look at me.' her voice was calm and Mistoffelees couldn't help wishing she was more scared. If she was afraid she'd be careful but she had no idea what she was dealing with. How could she when Mistoffelees himself had no idea.

Almost too quickly, Mistoffelees released the effort he was using to keep his eyes closed. They shot open, glaring wildly forwards. Victoria gasped and fell backwards, stumbling and chocking on her words.

'Mistoffelees, your eyes.. they're... they're ON FIRE.'

At the fear in her voice, Mistoffelees found himself relieved. Good, she was scared. If she was scared she would stay away from him. If she was scared she would be safe.

Mistoffelees began to look around the room. His breathing was uneven, almost feverish and the entire room looked to him engulfed in flames. Movement drew his eyes to Victoria. She was back on her knees, leaning towards him, one paw outstretched.

'Stay. Away.'

Mistoffelees managed to growl through clenched teeth. The pain was growing so fast it took all his strength to stop himself screaming.

'Misto, you're in pain. How can I not help you?'

Victoria pleaded with him as she gently cupped his face in her paws.

'Tell me, please!'

For a second as he her paws gently holding his face, Mistoffelees felt the pain lessen but the feeling was forgotten as a fresh wave of heat seemed to engulf his body, leaving him breathless.

'I'm. In. Hell.' he managed to spit out the words but even he could barely hear them.

'You're not..you're in my bedroom. Oh everlasting cat, Misto, what's wrong with you?'

Victoria's eyes were so frightened it hurt Mistoffelees to look at them.

'I'M IN HELL!' the scream that followed haunted Victoria's nightmares for the rest of her life. It was a scream that defined every single pain she had ever felt and ever would feel, only ten times worse. It threw Mistoffelees back with it's force, and of course, that scream also destroyed any thought she had left for her own safety. She no longer cared if her father came in and saw everything, all she cared about was stopping the torture of the trembling tom before her.

'Mistoffelees, please tell me what to do!'

'Cori- Coricopat, Tantomile. Find them. They'll know. They. Underst-'

And then another wave of burning overtook him and all the tom was capable of was wimpering.

Victoria reached out to touch him but drew her paw away faster than lightening. Her fur was scorched black as though she hadn't touched a cat, but an open flame.

Everything in front of her was beyond anything she'd seen or even read about and so she did the only thing she could. She screamed. And she screamed. And she screamed.  
And as she knew would happen, Rumpleteazer came running. None of the toms in the den were brave enough to deal with a screaming Victoria, not even her own father.

Rumpleteazer took one look at Mistoffelees collapsed on the floor and immediately grew worried. Not for Mistoffelees, but for whoever had been on the receiving end of his anger.

''Teazer! He said something about Cori-cowpatt and chamomile. What does he mean? Is he sick?'

The queen shook her head. 'Coricopat and Tantomile. They're his aunt and uncle. They understand his... problem so they might be able to help. They're Jellicles.'

Victoria gave one quick nod to show she understood and fled out of the door. Locking the unconsciousness Mistoffelees in Victoria's room, Rumpleteazer tried to ignore the growing fear in her stomach. So many people were in danger, it would take a miracle for them to all make it out alive.

And as she rounded a final corner and Plato came into sight, she silently prayed for more than one miracle. Because she could not see how a tom in his condition was ever going to survive the night.

* * *

**Two chapters in one night! I've decided that I'm finally going to try and finish off most of my fanfictions so I'm doing this one first. Last week I finally got to see CATS when it came to manchester on the UK tour and I have to say it was the most fantastic thing I have ever seen in my life. Tugger and Grizabella were the best!**


	25. Understanding

'You owe me, big time.' Mungojerrie placed the weak, bleeding body of Plato down onto the table in their den, scowling at his sister.

'I don't owe you anything, 'Jerrie. You're my brother. You're meant to help me in times like this.'

The tiger-striped queen was speeding around the den, grabbing bottles and creams and tablets and just about anything she could think of that might help in some way.

'Macavity should know. If there's something or someone dangerous within his ranks, he needs to know so he can fight it. I don't know who you think you're protecting by hiding _him_.'

The agitated tom gestured flippantly towards Plato.

'But it's certainly not us. You're putting us all in danger, 'Teazer. The monster who did that to Plato is still at large and it needs to be destroyed before anyone else gets hurt.

So excuse me for saying that you owe me, but you do. Because the only thing preventing me from dragging Macavity here right this moment, is you.'

'Pass me the bandages.' Rumpleteazer held out her hand expectantly without looking away from her patient but instead of feeling the fabric she had asked for in her hand she felt her brother's tight grip on her wrist, pulling her towards him.

'You know who did this, don't you?' The queen tried to pull away but her brother gripped her other wrist in his free hand, forcing her to face up to him.

'And you're covering for him? Plato is DYING, Rumpleteazer. And you're protecting the cat who tried to kill him? Everlasting cat, you make me sick!'

She was fighting back tears as she struggled to get free.

'Just let me go, I could help him, If I just...'

But Mungojerrie shook his head, throwing her paws free.

'You can try. Try and ease your guilt by healing him. Pollicle! most of his injuries don't even look like they've been done by a cat. But later I want to know the truth.'

There was a darkness to Mungojerrie that 'Teazer had never seen in him before and even through her tears, it scared her.

'Jerrie, just help me save him, please!'

Mungojerrie did as he was told and helped but no matter how many times Rumpleteazer looked at him, the darkness didn't fade.

* * *

Victoria was completely disorientated. Leaving the warehouse to go looking for two cats who's names she couldn't even pronounce correctly was just about the most stupid thing she had ever done in her life.

In her boredom at home, she had poured over maps of land surrounding the warehouse, trying to visualise it but nothing could have prepared her for reality. In the distance she could see what looked like lights and concluding that where there was light, there was probably cats, the snowy queen made a beeline for it.

Crawling through one final pipe, Victoria shaded her eyes as the sight in front of her proved too dazzling for her to cope. There were cats here. Lots of them. Her eyes darted from one to the other but she could barely tell any of them apart. In the whirling mass of colour, she would never be able to find the two cats she needed.

And then suddenly her view was blocked by a single face in alarmingly close proximity to her own.

'Well what have we got here then?'

The cat staring intently at the young queen had the biggest main Victoria had ever seen on a cat.

'What are you hiding for, kit?'

Victoria couldn't help wrinkling her nose in distaste. She was way past being a kitten now. Adrenaline and annoyance making her brave, she pushed past the maine coon and tumbled into the centre of the junkyard.

'I'm looking for two cats to help my friend. He's hurt, but no-one's hurt him. And when I touched him I burnt my paw. They're his aunt and uncle but I can't remember their names.' |She knew she was making no sense and inadvertedly she had begun to cry. She was scared and exhausted and the way these cats where looking at her told her they all thought she was crazy.

'Please help him, his name's Mistoffelees.'

There was a reaction to this, as though it was a name they recognised. Seemingly out of nowhere, a sleek black queen appeared next to Victoria.

'Mistoffelees is alive?'

Victoria couldn't help thinking she looked familiar. Looking again, the queen met her eyes and Victoria realised why she seemed familiar. It was as though Mistoffelees was staring straight at her. Their eyes were identical.

Getting over her shock, the white queen nodded emphatically.

'He works for my- Macavity. But something's happened and I don't understand it. He said to find his aunt and uncle, that they would understand.'

Silently, out of the darkness, two more cats appeared, perfectly in synch with each other. The taller of the two stared into her eyes and then nodded to the other who spoke in a voice that seemed to echo without meaning to.

'We will come with you. Please show us the way.'

Slightly hypnotised by the queen's voice, Victoria nodded vaguely and began to scurry clumsily back towards the warehouse.

* * *

Mungojerrie washed the last of the blood off his hands. They had done all they could for Plato but now it was up to his body to mend itself and Mungojerrie seriously doubted that a body that had suffered through so much trauma would ever have the strength to fix what needed to be fixed.

Rumpleteazer was sleeping, or at least pretending to, leaving her brother to keep watch over the feverish young tom as he slipped in and out of consciousness. 'Jerrie's eyes scanned his friend's injuries. They were not done by any normal cat. You did not get third degree burns from a normal catfight. His mind was trying to make connections. There were things he knew and they were somehow interlinked. If he could only work out _how_.

You could get third degree burns from electric shocks but the burns were in patterns down Plato's body. In a sickening way they were almost ordered. You did not get that from a random electric shock.

The answer was in front of him, Mungojerrie knew it.

Electricity,

Controlled electricity.

He had seen it.

Sparks, targeted in one direction.

But where had he seen it?

And then he realised why Rumpleteazer was protecting Plato's attacker.

She was protecting _him_. The tom she seemed to favour more than most.

The one who had appeared out of nowhere.

Quiet, unsuspecting, small, innocent, weak.

But now Mungojerrie knew who had harmed his friend and, getting up, he went to find Quaxo.


End file.
